Land Before Time Flames of Wrath
by xXPteranoXx
Summary: When a high ranking special forces operative Fireclaw forges a powerful weapon, fury begins to consume him. It's up to Chomper, his specially trained partner and long time friend of the Great Valley to stop a dark force from consuming the land they know and love. Rated M for some blood and gore, and language.
1. The Forge

~~ The Land Before Time : Flames of Wrath ~~

Prologue:  
This story is written with two different elements, the Land before time, and the Dinosaucers.  
Both are regularly mentioned throughout the story, and if you haven't heard of the Dinosaucers,  
I'd recommend to look it up on youtube first to get a better understanding of where everything comes from.  
All characters belong to their respective owners, Fireclaw, Xaero, and any other characters belong to me.  
With that, enjoy Flames of Wrath!

Also, this is my first ever fanfiction, so bear with me if it get's a bit weird.

Chapter 1: Coldfire Forge

Three years after the Stone of Coldfire landed, no major happenings caused any major disfunction since.  
The rock oddly exploded just as threehorn peak was to blow, and was never seen since, or so it was believed.  
It was thought to have been gone from existance after that, but one day, a halfblood fastbiter/sharptooth by name of Fireclaw came across the remnants of the stone. What Pterano didn't realize is that when tempered, the stone's true power unveils itself. He had come so close, yet was still so far.  
Back at the Great Valley, Fireclaw was busy reforging a weapon using the large fragments he collected earlier that day.  
"Hmm, whatever this is made of, it's very hard to smelt down." Fireclaw said under his breath. He was a bit paranoid after taking the fragments, in fear that someone else may want them as well. A stick breaking behind him was enough to send him into defense mode. He quickly pivoted on one heel, quickly drawing the USP. 45 he carried on a leg holster. Allo issued it to him a long time ago, and was offered upgrades, but refused. Fireclaw trusted his USP more than other weapons at times it seemed.  
"Woa, woa, calm down Fire, it's only me!" Chomper nearly screamed, surprised to find himself looking down the business end of a loaded handgun. Fireclaw lowered his gun, arm trembling from the short adrenaline rush.  
"Sorry, got a little carried away there." Fireclaw replied.  
"Ya think? Ever since you took those rocks, you've been on edge constantly. What are you trying to do anyway?"  
Chomper asked, sounding a little like Cera. Chomper noticed a large object behind Fireclaw. He was looking at a makeshift forge Fireclaw was using to attempt to smelt the rocks down.  
"Are you alone?" Asked Fireclaw.  
"Uhh, sure, I didn't invite anyone." Chomper replied, a little confused.  
"Watch this."  
Fireclaw held out his claw and the fires in the forge turned a very dark purple, which faded back to orange when he moved his claw away. The stones Fireclaw had been trying to smelt had now turned to a very energy-rich molten mixture.  
"Wha- wha- what the hell was that?" Chomper exclaimed.  
"See, Pterano was too stupid to realize that this metal grows more powerful with heat. He could've held it over a smoking mountain and probably would've become ultimately powerful." Fireclaw explained as if Chomper had any idea what he was talking about.  
Chomper didn't remember any of this, but acted like he had some clue. Fireclaw wasn't buying it.  
"Yea, I didn't think you would know..." He added, after a bit of an awkward pause.  
"Well, umm, what was it you were doing again?" Chomper asked to change the topic.  
"Well, considering that the metallic properties of the stone are considerably ideal, guess what this is for!" Fireclaw explained excitedly. He held up an empty sword hilt, mostly complete minus a way to fasten the blade to it.  
"So you're forging a blade? Did Allo show you how to do this, like a ton of other things he probably told you and didn't bother to tell anyone else." Chomper asked with a hint of sarcasm.  
"Not really, I've had a little experience blacksmithing in the past. Forging the Stone of Cold Fire makes me wonder what exactly I can do with this, considering how powerful it proves to be." Fireclaw replied.  
"Hey Chomper! Where'd you go?" Cera shouted off in the distance.  
"Yea, where you go?" Petrie chimed in.  
"Uhh, coming! Fire, keep this secret for now, this weapon may come in handy some day." Chomper said.  
Chomper ran towards the woods, looked back at Fireclaw, who was now at work trying to temper the metal,  
then disappeared through the trees and bushes to meet the others.


	2. Deadly Demonstration

Ok so, looks like I've got to try and fix the formatting. Last chapter went all weird with the paragraphs...

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Chapter 2: Deadly Demonstration

The residents of the Great Valley congregated around the Thundering Falls pond, eagerly awaiting to see what Chomper had brought them all there for. Rumor got out somehow that Fireclaw had a new weapon and was going to test it. Much to the dinosaur's surprise, it wasn't a firearm he was going to test this time, but his new, and very elegantly engraved sword.

Fireclaw was sitting by the pond, watching the water move as he had moved the blade over the surface. The water seemed to be magnetically attracted to the water, the closer the blade was, the further the water would part. He could make it even ripple if he waved the blade up and down rapidly. If Fireclaw focused more on what he wanted the water to do, it would do as he wished. He had everyone captivated by his new feat, even more so Chomper.

Suddenly Fireclaw shifted his gaze upward, and looked across the pond, imagining what he could do if he were to imagine a tidal wave. Everyone stood silent as he stood up, and prepared a sideward strike, this time though, focusing all of his energy on a massive wave, and not once was he going to let the blade get wet. He swiped the blade rapidly, releasing all the energy he focused and built up, causing the water, exactly as planned, to fly straight out of the pond, into the air in a massive wave, then crash against the Thundering Falls' cliffside. The entire Great Valley stood in awe at what just happened.

"DId you really just move water with that kind of force?" Topsy asked, both curiously and nervously.

"Aprehensive to ask such a question for once now aren't we threehorn? And yes, Topsy, that's exactly what I just did." Fireclaw replied proudly.

"Can he throw rocks?" Someone in the massive crowd shouted.

Fireclaw pointed the blade to the sky, flipped it over, then with both arms thrust the blade straight into the earth, sending a shockwave that raised massive pointed slabs of rock straight into the air, also causing everyone to stumble from the micro earthquake. Everyone stood with eyes wide as the rocks began to recede into the ground exactly opposite of how they came up. Something amazing was happening, and the dinosaurs of the Great Valley knew they were bearing witness to it.

"Does that answer your question?" Fireclaw asked as his eyes turned from a tint of red back to the normal green they originally were. Littlefoot managed to push his way through the crowd and ran up to Fireclaw.

"So if you can move water and rocks, what else can you do?" Littlefoot asked excitedly.

"Probably just about anything to be honest." Replied Fireclaw.

Fireclaw threw the sword, sticking it blade first into a tree. THen, he held his claw out, fully extended, then balled it into a fist, causing the tree to explode into hundreds of chunks and splinters. The sword floated back gracefully yet hastely to him. Littlefoot wasn't believing anything he was seeing.

Fireclaw soon found it hard to appease the ever-growing mob as they all converged on him, questioning how he did that, what magic it was, was he a monster, anything anybody could spit at him. Thankfully Grandpa Longneck happened to be there to restore peace.

"Alright everyone, I think it's time that we left Fireclaw alone to practice with his new found abilities. It could be dangerous to break his concentration with something that powerful." Grandpa Longneck called to the crowd. After the short exchange of murmurs and speaking amongst themselves, the crowd disbanded to go about their daily routines, but of course not without talking about the previous events. Left standing were Pterano, Chomper and of course Fireclaw.

With Pterano being the leader of the Great Valley's air division, he was always interested in these kinds of things if it could be used militaristically, and saw great opportunity in Fireclaw's swordsmanship. Chomper's primary interest was to relay what Fireclaw could do back to the Dinosaucers for some analysis on what exactly was in that falling stone Fireclaw now controls.

"Fireclaw! I couldn't help but notice this magnificent display of pure power! Tell me, how do you do it? What is the secret that I did not know that called forth this magic?" Pterano said trying to swindle Fireclaw.

"Pterano, why are you suddenly interested?" Asked Chomper in Fireclaw's defense. All eyes turned to Pterano as suddenly his whole viewpoint of being a changed flyer many cold times ago was starting to seem more transparent that had appeared.

"Seems as though you've forgotten your sins alread Pterano. Remember what happened when you got yourself expelled from the Great Valley six cold times ago, or has that slipped your mind too?" Fireclaw retorted to Pterano.

"Oh yes, believe me, how can one forget? The real matter is why you are the one who it chose as it's master and not me, the greatest of all flyers! It should've been me to restore the wo-"

Fireclaw cut Pterano off as he pulled his trusty pistol and trained the sights on Pterano's forhead, safety ready to be released.

"So you have forgotten it seems. Look Pterano, I'd just leave it where it stands now, otherwise it would be a shame if I had to splatter your skull like a tree sweet because you decided to go rogue on us, now wouldn't it?" Fireclaw said, gritting his teeth and snarling at the same time.

"So it is. I'd watch where you'd aim Fireclaw, you'll be the one facing treason with an attitude like that!" Pterano yelled back over his shoulder before taking off.

"That bastard, and to think I knew there was something off about him." Chomper said.

"No kidding. Believe me, you'd had to have been there when he decided to take Ducky on a high speed and high altitude joyride. Not to mention he's also a murderer. He tried to 'lead' part of the herd coming to the Great Valley many cold times ago, well, years, ago, just after the massive earthquake hit a far off valley. As they migrated to find better homeland, good ole' Pterano there decided it would be in their best interest if they just went and followed him to saftey, to glory even! Well, not even three days later, all of them were dead. Surprised at all? Don't be, he knows what he did, and so does everyone else. He just thinks that being a chav will erase his past." Fireclaw explained to Chomper.

"Someone actually trusted him?" Chomper replied sounding surprised.

"Yup. He's a good enough narcicist that he can basically use himself as a way to get what he wants. Just depends on who's he's appealing to." Fireclaw replied.

"So to redeem himself, he tried to capture the Stone of Cold Fire, and apparently failed." Chomper replied.

"He almost did. If he would've known the catalyst, chances are, He'd probably be dead right now from an assasination attempt." Fireclaw replied.

"Sounds like he's in the means to try for that again." Chomper said.

"He very well could, and he'd kill himself ultimately. He has no idea how to use the sword, and somehow to me it just feels natural. I'm not sure why either. Pterano, on the other hand, will try something super powerful and either succeed then go insane from the power, or kill himself by accident because he doesn't know how to properly use the sword." Fireclaw explained.

The conversation was cut short by small rumbles in the ground. Both Fireclaw and Chomper knew exactly what was coming. Sharpteeth. A rustle in the bushes behind Chomper caused Fireclaw to draw the sword in one hand, holding it under the USP like a tactical knife and advance on the bush. Then Cera burst through, toppling over herself in a panic as she came flying out into the clearing. Loud roars could be heard in the distance, confirming what she was about to say.

Chomper headed for a nearby cave, which contained a large cache of weaponry stored from a previous conflict Allo had delivered to the Great Valley as a last resort. Fireclaw helped Cera regain her composure in the meanwhile.

"Cera, what the hell's going on out th-" A loud bang interrupted Fireclaw as Chomper fired an RPG from a hilltop behind him.

"Sharpteeth got into the Valley, there's too many for the grown-ups to hold off on their own!" Cera replied over the loud pops of the missiles leaving the launcher.

"Where does Allo get all these weapons?" Chomper yelled to Fireclaw.

"Hell if I know, now Cera, how many would you say there are?" Fireclaw said switching from Chomper to Cera.

"Uhh, Fire, there's about maybe six or so, one I just took down!" Chomper yelled back in reply. Chomper dove off the rock as a large green sharptooth collided with it, back first. Grandpa Longneck whipped it's head with his tail as it tried to recover from the damaging blow, snapping it's neck.

"Fair enough. Now to really get to know this thing!" Fireclaw said to himself.

HE burst into a run, unsheathing the sword from his back. He custom made the sheath to match the sword's elegance out of a special tree. Fireclaw Charged through thick shrubbery, hacking and slashing to get over a hill to see everything better. He could hear screams, yells, battle cries, roars, practically everything. Fireclaw was ready. He reached the top and saw that there was now about eight sharpteeth, four circling a defenseless swimmer waiting to kill her. One was missing a massive chunk from it's side, presumably because of the well placed RPG shot Chomper took.

He saw littlefoot trying his own guerilla tactics, shooting rocks with his tail then running to find cover. Fireclaw had a better, more useful idea than to run and hide.

With the help of the Stone of Cold Fire's power infused, he charged a jump, then flew high into the air, leaving a dark purple streak upon launch. Fireclaw managed to position himself above one sharptooth, in one motion turn the blade upside down to thrusting position, then fell with great velocity, down onto the unsuspecting Shartooth, which was about to kill the Swimmer already swarmed by three others. Blood splattered everywhere as Fireclaw bore through the top of the Sharptooth's head, and out under his jaw, sending chunks of skull, flesh and brain matter spewing like a geyser into the air. The collision with the ground caused a shockwave powerful enough to kick a sizeable amount of soil and knock the other Sharpteeth backwards, and send the already bleeding Swimmer flying as well. Coated in blood, Fireclaw stood up and looked at the virtually decapitated Sharptooth. Only the jawline was left.

"ENOUGH!" Fireclaw boomed to the sky.

Everyone, Sharpteeth included winced at the sheer loudness of it, and the attack began to slow down. The Sharpteeth were now being driven out by hordes of angry dinosaurs on the offensive. Fireclaw stood and watched, eyes glowing a very bright red color, and filled with the fury of an entire army taking another's homeland without mercy. Chomper managed to make his way through a tangle of fallen trees and kicked up dirt and rock in time to see what had happened.

"What the...?" Chomper asked himself, noticing the crater Fireclaw's death-drop left, then looking at the destroyed Sharptooth. Fireclaw was facing away from him.

"Firecla- What the hell?" Chomper called to Fireclaw. Noticing the color of his eyes and the grimace of pure sin on his face sent a chill down his spine. He's never seen Fireclaw this way, and can't remember the last time Fireclaw had ever actually been to this point of near insanity.

"Yes, Chomper?" Fireclaw said back, not breaking his gaze with Chomper. Chomper began to feel intimidated around one of his best friends.

"Are you- okay? Your eyes are- What's wrong with you?" Chomper stammered out. After seeing what happened, it was all he could say.

Once all of the Sharpteeth were driven out, a small group of dinosaurs were gathered around in a tight circle. One called out "We've got a live one here!" followed by "He aint movin' either!" Chomper followed Fireclaw as he walked over to the small gathering, nervous to get too close in fear that Fireclaw would react badly.

"Everyone move!" Fireclaw yelled. The crowd did as commanded, probably due to his eye color and the drop in pitch when he spoke.

Lying on the ground, curled up in the fetal position was another Sharptooth, about Fireclaw's size, even looking the same as him, silently crying to himself. The mob that was now growing in size was tauting and jeering it, shouting insults such as coward, young-killer, and disgrace to all those who still live. Grandpa Longneck stood towards the back of the mob, watching for things that could escalate the already tense situation.

"Xaero, you cower. Why is this? I DEMAND YOU TELL ME WHY THIS IS THAT YOU COWER BEFORE ME! THIS IS NOT HOW YOU WERE TRAINED!" Fireclaw boomed at the Sharptooth. Xaero looked up, and buried his head in his knees again once he saw the bloody and pissed off Fireclaw, brandishing a sword as long as his arm.

Fireclaw grabbed the Sharptooth by the throat, lifted him off the ground with one hand, and waved the sword in front of him, taunting him with it and making obscene gestures.

"So, this is how you decide to act, is it? I knew Allo should've put more work into you before even letting you consider going out into the field. You disgrace the Dinosaucers, and you especially disgrace me! I trained you to be a damn warrior, and THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?" Fireclaw said, then screamed.

He threw Xaero into a group of duck-billed dinosaurs, who took his shoulders and threw him back into the ring. Grandma Longneck arrived soon after, wondering what Fireclaw was yelling about, and stood next to Grandpa Longneck in the back. Grandpa Longneck was ready to break up what Fireclaw was doing.

"I'm sorry, Firecl-" Xaero was cut off by Fireclaw punching him in the eye, sending him flying yet again. The somersault he did upon landing nearly knocked him unconsious.

The crowd began to space out, hoping to see a fight. They all knew that in his current state, Fireclaw would butcher Xaero easily. Fireclaw tossed Xaero his sword. A mass gasp arose from the crowd as everyone now expected Xaero to turn into a monster.

"Take up arms, Xaero. This is what you get for cowardice! If you didn't learn the first time, this time I gaurantee you will learn it!" Fireclaw shouted as he charged Xaero.

Xaero held the sword out in front of him awkwardly as Fireclaw delivered a crushing blow with his shoulder, winding him and sending him sprawling backward. He'd forgotten how to fight with a sword, and soon regretted it. He dropped the sword in the dirt, sticking it in blade first on impact. Xaero rose to his feet, only to be met with a swift kick to the ribs, then an elbow drop straight back down to the ground. By this point Xaero was beginning to spit blood. The crowd cheered and hollered at the sight of this. Fireclaw went to deliver a spinning axe kick but was knocked off his feet by a quick sweep from Xaero. He rolled backward and got to his feet. Fireclaw hit the ground with both claws and sprung up effortlessly. Xaero charged forward and attempted a flying punch, but was thrown over Fireclaw's shoulder and bodyslammed straight onto the ground again. He couldn't get his breath in time as Fireclaw turned around, then spun back around in a barrel roll before transitioning into a perfect axe kick, crushing Xaero's chest. Xaero went unconsious, the fight was over.

Fireclaw reclaimed the sword from the dirt, then walked over to Xaero, lying twisted on the ground. The crowd cheered loudly, thinking that Fireclaw killed him. Chomper was impressed at Fireclaw's enhanced abilities, thinking it was the Sword of Coldfire's power doing it to him.

"That's enough!" Grandpa Longneck called to the mob. Everyone fell silent. Fireclaw's eyes changed back to their normal color.

Grandpa Longneck pushed through the crowd towards the center of the ring. He had trouble looking at the ground because of all the blood spatter during the fight.

"Everyone, disband immediately! That's an order! There is to be no more mob gathering from this point out! What Fireclaw did was inexcusable, and will be dealt with accordingly! Everyone return to your nests immediately!" Grandpa Longneck yelled to the crowd. Fireclaw was in no way intimidated by this.

"Oh no, Fireclaw's in trouble!" Littlefoot said.

"In trouble? Ha, after a fight like that I'd be congratulating him! Did you see the way he flip kicked that Sharptooth? He told that dumb-ole Sharptooth with the bottom of his foot! Doesn't get any better than that!" Cera replied back. Littlefoot, Petrie, Ducky and Spike gave her surprised stares.

"Cera, what Fireclaw did was not a very nice thing to do at all. Oh no, not at all." Ducky replied.

"What Fire mean by 'If you not learn first time, You learn this time?' Fireclaw teach Sharptooth to fight?" Petrie asked.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking. Somehow they know each other, probably not in a good way either. There has to be more to this than what's going on now, I know it!" Littlefoot said.

"But Littlefoot, it verry bad idea to ask Fireclaw how he know Sharptooth. He mad already, why we need anger him more?" Petrie replied.

"I'm not trying to make him mad, but my grandpa may banish him if we don't help him somehow! I'm going to find out what's really going on. You can do what you want, but this doesn't seem right!" Littlefoot said as he turned and ran into the woods.

"Sometimes I wonder if he's ever gotten himself in trouble for nosing into things he shouldn't." Cera said under her breath before running after him. Petrie, Ducky and Spike followed her.

"Fireclaw, what you did was definetely over the line! That fight did not need to happen and you know that!" Grandpa Longneck said.

"Eldin, with all due respect, I don't believe you understand the code of Dinosaucer membership. In Xaero's case, he's a step higher than the others, which damn me for not knowing why, but him curling up like a baby was not a way you do things in his position! If anything, he should've taken a rock or something and beat the other damn Sharpteeth to death with it if need be, not curl up like a hatchling and wait for everything to just blow over!" Fireclaw retorted back.

Fireclaw was cleaning the blood off of his sword in the pond and trying to argue with Grandpa Longneck at the same time. Littlefoot hid behind a bush, listening as Fireclaw and Grandpa Longneck tried to argue ethics over what happened earlier that day.

"Listen, as I've said, it doesn't matter! If he wants to be a coward, that's fine, because now he's under my wing. Let me tell you something, if you land a place under my jurisdiction, trust me when I say this I will be a hard-ass about it, because I can! He's not going to get off easy, and if need be I'll scar this whole ordeal that happened today into his brain with a bullet if I need to! I'm a pretty damn good marksman with a handgun and just about any high-powered rifle, not like you know what those are yet. All it takes is one good shot and bam, problem solved." Fireclaw explained.

"Not to change the topic, but who exactly are these 'dinosaucers' you've spoken of before?" Grandpa Longneck asked.

"Hmm, funny you should ask. I thought I'd explained it to you. Well, the Dinosaucers are an elite group of dinosaurs derived from a distant planet known as Reptillon. They arrived here ages ago, and continue to remain here due to a constant conflict going on not only on their home planet, but now spreading to our- well, your, home planet, anyway. You see, I was inducted into the ranks starting actually from a cadet, you could say. It's not a very high position, but over time I became what I am now, one of the most powerful members, free to do just about anything. Allo is the leader, and I'm his wingman. That's how it works, and so long as I breathe, it will continue that way. I've done things I can't be proud of to get this position, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right?" Fireclaw explained.

Cera, followed by the other three, snuck up behind Littlefoot, hoping to get to see what was going on. Littlefoot had no idea and nearly screamed out of surprise when Cera brushed up against him by accident. Fireclaw took notice right away.

"Hmm, you know, I don't mean to interrupt our conversation, but do you ever get the feeling that you're being-" Fireclaw stomped the ground, sending a shockwave out that made Grandpa Longneck stumble a bit, and sent Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky and Spike sprawling out of the bushes they were taking cover behind. Petrie landed on Cera's horn unscathed by the force.

"Next time, we sit somewhere where it's more sturdy." Cera grumbled.

"So, you were eavesdropping, I take it." Fireclaw said.

"No, not at all, we were, well, yea, kinda." Littlefoot replied out of shame.

"Littlefoot, you and your friends know that it's impolite to listen in on other's conversations, especially when they don't pretain to you. You can get yourself in a lot of trouble doing that, even if it isn't Grandma's or mine." Grandpa Longneck replied.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask you a question, though, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to ask it." Littlefoot said, turning towards Fireclaw.

"Well, you've made it this far, no sense in turning back now, is there?" Fireclaw replied.

"He have point, Littlefoot." Petrie said.

"That is true, he does, he does." Ducky added.

"Ok then, well, here it goes. How did you know who that sharptooth from earlier was?" Littlefoot asked, hoping Fireclaw wouldn't react badly to the question.

"You mean Xaero? As dissapointing as it is at this point to even say that I know him, well, I trained him. He was supposed to be an elite soldier, trained to do damn well anything without fear or second thought. That wasn't the case earlier. He was supposed to even represent a wing of the Dinosaucers at some point, but that didn't happen either." Fireclaw said.

"Who's the 'Dinosaucers'?" Cera asked, emphasizing the last word.

"Grandpa Longneck will tell you later. It's a long story, anyway, why were you wondering that Littlefoot? It really doesn't have anything to do with you." Fireclaw Replied.

"I was wondering because you beat him horribly, and your eyes had been glowing bright red the whole time, and you sounded, well, evil! I've never seen you do that before!" Littlefoot replied.

"There are some things in this world Littlefoot that you best just not even know in the first place. You'll be better off not worrying about it, rather than seek an answer, because trust me, what you find won't be what you'd ever expect, and you'll never look at me the same way again. Just leave the situation where it stands and stop worrying about it. That's really all I can say at this point." Fireclaw said.

"Littlefoot, it's late you know. I believe it's time to go back to the nest. It's past your bedtime as it is. The great circle's already left the sky." Grandpa Longneck said.

"Yea, you're right Grandpa. I just wanted to know what happened with Fireclaw and Xaero earlier. That's all." Littlefoot said.

As Littlefoot and his friends wandered back to their nests, Fireclaw turned to Grandpa Longneck to say one final thing.

"listen, I know you're not used to seeing me do what I managed to pull off earlier, but I can tell you that I do it with good intention. It definetely put the Sharpteeth in a bad position to continue that attack, thats why they left. If anything, I would never use it against anyone in the Great Valley, no matter how much they can piss me off. Especially threehorn, knowing him, he'd try too. All I'm saying is that I have it under control enough that you won't have to worry about anything." Fireclaw explained reassuringly.

"Fireclaw, I'm not worried about that, it's just that what you hold now has great power. With great power comes even greater enemies. Pterano tried to use the stone of coldfire many cold times ago, and failed. Who's to say that he won't try to do it again?" Grandpa Longneck said.

"That's the exact thing I worry about. He's close enough to me daily that he could make a grab for it, yet even if he had the sword in his posession, he'd never be able to use it. It binds to the one who activates it, and I was the one who forged it. He'd be lucky I didn't turn it against him while he was holding it, because in the wrong hands, I found out earlier that it triggers a subconsious state of aggression, one not known to any normal being. I'm guessing it's because the sword isn't with it's rightful owner that it begins to play on his emotions. I nearly killed Xaero by blowing his hands off when I tossed him the sword. Pterano is the last one I'd worry about. There's still someone else you don't know about, that may rear his ugly head at some point, which I hope is never." Fireclaw replied.

"It's getting late, maybe we should get some rest and deal with this in the morning." Grandpa Longneck said.

"Yea, this is starting to gnaw at my nerves anyway. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, and hopefully on better terms than tonight." Fireclaw replied.

After exchanging their goodnight's they parted ways. Somehow though, Fireclaw felt as though the sharptooth attack was actually part of something much, much worse. He knew it was too easy, and it's never a sign when the enemy turns and leaves so easily. After thinking about this, dealing with Xaero was the last thing on his mind.


	3. The Faceoff

Alright, this is officially the longest I've ever stayed dedicated to a creative writing project! Let's hope that all of my times imagining cool scenarios in my head whilst listening to hard techno or metal will pay off in the chapters to come! Thank's to all who've read this and reviewed (I haven't checked my email in a while to see, I know one did though, you're awesome! :D)

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Chapter 3: The Face-off

Fireclaw was awakened by what sounded like shouting, and someone parading themselves around to others. Chomper was standing at the mouth of the cave they resided in while they stayed in the Great Valley, high above the trees for a good view of anything going on. Fireclaw could tell by the way Chomper was standing that something wasn't right. He had his hand reached over for a rifle stashed behind a small rock indentation, just big enough to hide the Winchester and the surprisingly large scope mounted to it. Fireclaw joined him, and was quite shocked to see Pterano drawing a crowd towards himself, attempting to con nearly anyone he could see into some antic he was trying to pull. Fireclaw could only make out some of his speech, and didn't like what he had heard.

"Chomper, grab that damn rifle, I'll bet you I know what he's trying to pull." Fireclaw said quietly, yet sternly.

Chomper pulled the rifle from it's hiding place, handing it over to Fireclaw. He had an idea of what Fireclaw was about to do, and was hoping to all things holy that he wouldn't do it. Fireclaw raised the rifle to one shoulder, looking through the scope. He then saw Fireclaw reaching his finger towards the laser sight's activation switch, mounted just behind the trigger guard so that the shooter wouldn't lose focus trying to turn on the sight. He pulled his finger away, having second thoughts about showing Pterano that he was in the sights of his soon-to-be executioner. Chomper began to set up a sonic ear to relay what he was saying to the crowd.

"How in the hell hasn't Grandpa Longneck stopped this yet? I thought he said there would be no more crowding!" Fireclaw said.

"I hope he's not turning a blind eye to this because of Pterano's position. I'm sure that's not the case though." Chomper replied.

"It damn well better not be. I could do the same thing around lavadome, but I choose not to because I'm not some heartless bastard who only cares about himself." Fireclaw said.

Suddenly he moved his finger quickly towards the safety, Pterano was now looking directly at him, but appeared to be completely oblivious to the glint of the rifle scope. Even at the angle that Fireclaw was prone in, he was worried that he would still be too visible. Now was the moment of truth, he held his breath, hoping that Pterano wouldn't cause a scene if he saw the rifle and suspected he was about to be killed. After what seemed like minutes, he turned his head. Fireclaw was in the clear, for now at least.

"Got it, and I don't think you're going to like what you're about to hear. Just don't go off and shoot anyone just yet when you hear it." Chomper said, choosing his words carefully.

"Let me hear it, he's pushing the line already just showing himself to me like that." Fireclaw replied.

Fireclaw put on the headset, and was about to empty his magazine into Pterano's head when he got in on the conversation.

"Longneck was a fool to think that we flyers weren't capable of leading a herd! He was a fool to think anything of us lower than what we are in this world! We are the TRUE leaders of our world, for we see what you cannot. We can hear what you cannot hear, we guide you from the sky, while you defend yourselves from the ground, from those dreaded sharpteeth!" Pterano ranted.

After Pterano emphasized his last word, he looked directly at Fireclaw again and winked. Fireclaw wasn't having any of it.

"That asshole! That scumbag asshole he knows that we're watching him! That's it! Okay Pterano, you want to play it that way then so be it, but you're going to wish that you never even considered that idea!" Fireclaw said sharply.

"Fireclaw, calm yourself down, this isn't going to work. He wants you to get pissed! He's going to frame you, don't you see? He's intentionally trying to make you angry so that he can get you to attack!" Chomper said while grabbing Fireclaw's arm so he didn't pull the trigger and kill Pterano.

"Chomper, he's going to betray the Great Valley! Propaganda like that just doesn't come from someone spewing random words! He's thought this one out! If he's trying to piss me off he's got that part down, but its' going to take a lot more to get me to attack him!" Fireclaw said back.

"Really? Because a second ago you were about to make him a smear with that rifle you're holding." Chomper said back in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh trust me Chomper, I won't shoot him. I want him to writhe!" Fireclaw said, the pitch in his voice dropping to a very low, almost demonic sounding tone towards the end of his sentence. Chomper stepped away when he heard it. He knew something was going on when he has the ability to change his voice that way at will.

"FIreclaw, what's wrong with you? Look at you! You've nearly beaten Xaero to death yesterday, you're about to off the leader of the Air Corps of the Great Valley with a rifle, and now you sound like you're possessed! Have you forgotten what you stand for as a Dinosaucer? You managed to keep your cool long before you forged that sword, and now you're turning into something that could commit a mass genocide because someone steals your last treestar!" Chomper yelled at Fireclaw while shaking him, completely forgetting that Pterano could hear it. Luckily he didn't when Chomper checked back to see if he'd looked again.

"Chomper, have you any idea what he nearly did to Ducky? He nearly killed her! Why, do you ask? He wanted the stone of Coldfire's power, and greed nearly drove him to murder! Especially of a child! A child, Chomper! Don't you think that's pushing the limits a bit? I'm sure putting him out of his misery would help a little, but still, you haven't even seen what I've seen with him!" Fireclaw growled back.

"Ok, you know what, I believe you, but listen, if you can't keep your cool, you're going to screw yourself in the end. I'm not going to argue or fight with you Fireclaw. Ever since you got me into the Dinosaucers and trained me personally I've known you almost as a brother, and I'm not willing to go as far as to fight you over something so stupid! Whatever you do, I'm right behind you, but I hope you can make the right decisions in the long run. You're growing more and more unstable, and I don't even know if I can help you at this point." Chomper said.

"You know what, I'll keep my cool with this, at least I'll try. Don't think I'm going to forget it though." Fireclaw said as he thrust the rifle back into the crevice in the rocks where it was originally stored. He grabbed his sword off of the makeshift mount made of tree branches and walked out. Chomper couldn't get away from the fact that he knew that Pterano was going to try something, but he couldn't try and stop Fireclaw and risk him doing something evil in the end. Impending doom was near, and he felt Fireclaw was going to lead it like a tank straight into an apocalyptic conflict, and he was powerless to stop it.

Meanwhile, down by the big pond, Littlefoot and his friends were playing kick the cone, a game like soccer. LIttlefoot's team, consisting of only Ducky, was in the lead by one point. Cera's team, with Spike as her partner, was getting ready for a defensive play.

"Alright guys, one point left and we win!" Littlefoot shouted.

"Yea, if you can make it." Cera said back.

Littlefoot swept the pine cone with his tail to the left, Spike diving unsuccessfully for it and getting a faceful of dirt and grass. Ducky ran to his right, allowing Littlefoot to pass it with ease. Ducky kicked it between Cera's legs, Littlefoot ran up the left again and delivered the kill shot. The Pinecone flew between the two sticks acting as a make-shift goalpost and nearly knocked out Petrie, who was perched on a branch playing ref.

"Good game guys!" Littlefoot said.

"That was fun! It was, it was!" Ducky said with the excitement of having won her first game of kick the cone in a long time.

Suddenly Fireclaw came out from behind a small thicket of bushes, looking visibly upset.

"Hey Fireclaw, what's up?" Cera said, getting no response.

"Sup Cera, hey Petrie, can I have a word with you, like now?" Fireclaw asked in a demanding tone.

"Umm, me no see why not, but- "

"Good, let's go. There's something you need to know about your dear old 'uncle'" Fireclaw interrupted.

"Oh no, not this whole deal again." Cera said to Littlefoot, rolling her eyes.

Fireclaw and Petrie walked down a small narrow path for privacy.

"You lie! My uncle Pterano no do any bad things anymore!" Petrie yelled in Fireclaw's face.

"Petrie, I've got the whole thing recorded! Your uncle is plotting something, and I don't mean to give you the ultimatum, but damnit it has to be done! You have to warn your mom and your siblings about this. I'm not going into detail, but I think Pterano's working with someone else on this, a sharptooth I pray you never meet!" Fireclaw said back. He knew who he was implying.

"But we already meet Redclaw! He biggest, meanest sharptooth that ever live!" Petrie said.

"That's where you're wrong Petrie. He's probably the biggest, or knowing who I'm about to tell you about may have other plans for that, but he's not the meanest. Have you ever heard the name Ghenghis Rex, by chance?" Fireclaw asked.

"Ghengis Rex? Who he?" Petrie asked back.

"Thought so. Ghengis Rex is a bit of a mastermind when it comes to plotting things. That's why I've been a Dinosaucer for so long, and I assume that Grandpa Longneck told you about that. He is the reason why I've moved weapons into the Great Valley. I said it was for protection against sharpteeth, which is partially true, but not exactly the whole truth either." Fireclaw explained.

"Why Ghenghis Rex so bad? What he do?" Petrie asked.

"Well, where I'm from originally, he's attempted to take over the entire planet by killing the leaders of my faction, which is like a herd, only a lot more advanced and complicated. I am an elite sent from there to ensure that he doesn't try to assasinate them again. If he's met Redclaw already, then we may have a huge problem then. He can speak perfect sharptooth and perfect leaf eater, as can myself and Chomper." Fireclaw explained.

Petrie was interrupted by a sound behind Fireclaw. Both he and Petrie froze at the sound, causing Fireclaw to put his hand on a revolver handle.

"Hm, can't someone have a conversation in private?" Fireclaw said as he spun around, revealing a .357 Smith and Wesson Magnum revolver he'd recieved as a gift from the secret scouts. He was greeted by the visibly unpleased Pterano, brandishing a makeshift spear carved crudely out of a tree branch.

"Oh please Pterano. Don't tell me you actually plan to stab me. Ha, that's cute, now how about you put that down and fly away, before I blow your brain into a pink mist." Fireclaw said, training his sights on Pterano's forehead.

"Attempting to sway my dear nephew about my past ways, I see. Go Petrie, Fireclaw and I have some things to discuss, alone." Pterano said in a very dark and angry tone.

Petrie flew away as fast as he could. Seeing Pterano that way suddenly brought back memories of a time when Pterano had come back to the Great Valley while banished, looking nearly the same way. The memory became very clear in his mind as he flew.

Petrie awoke from an uneasy sleep to be greeted by Pterano standing at the foot of the nest, glaring at his mother. He had the look of murder in his eye, and he would probably have done it had Petrie not have woken up. His mother was awakened by Petrie's screams as Pterano flew off, barely avoiding detection.

"Pterano, you sick bastard. It's easy to commit murder isn't it? Leading a herd straight to their untimely death, and all you can do as their leader is leave them to perish. Damn shame you are! And yet you actually have the nerve to show yourself to me, and even stand there as I am a high powered revolver at your face. You must be pretty determined to get something, perhaps, something powerful, am I correct?" Fireclaw said, staring into Pterano's eyes the whole time.

"This time, Fireclaw, I will forget all of my sins, because now this matter has become personal. Greed may have driven me to do terrible things, but this time it will drive me to do what's right!" Pterano growled, then finished in a shout before charging Fireclaw.

"Bring it on. I've been ready for a long time."

Pterano missed Fireclaw's foot easily when Fireclaw jumped straight into the air and rolled over him. He collided hard into a tree trunk and threw the wooden stave he was brandishing moments before. He flew at Fireclaw, attempting to grab him and take him into the air. Firecalw grabbed his left ankle and flipped him straight into the ground, slamming him hard as he began to spin in a ferris wheel formation, slamming Pterano against the ground, then rising him up half way through, then slamming him again. He did this three more times before hurling him by a broken ankle against another tree trunk. Pterano tried to move but was too injured to even lift an arm. Fireclaw grabbed him by his throat, lifted him straight into the air and stared him in the eye.

"Pterano, I nearly shot you this morning. You winked at my rifle barrel. Consider this being nice, because I could snap your neck right now and send you to the darkest pits of hell where you belong!" Fireclaw growled into Pterano's face.

"I don't care if anyone finds out about this. I've got evidence against you anyway, so this could be punishment before you're either banished yet again or executed, probably by me and to my discretion. Bet you feel mighty proud now, don't you?" Fireclaw spat at Pterano.

Fireclaw gimaced one last time, then threw Pterano through the trees and into a small clearing. He hit the ground and rolled into Topsy. Cera screamed at the sight of his broken body. Fireclaw walked out soon after, his right claw covered in blood from Pterano coughing up on it. Pterano was able to lift himself a little ways off the ground before collapsing.

"The last thing you will see before you die Pterano will be me, I gaurantee it." Fireclaw said before walking away, leaving Topsy to stare speechless at him while Cera cried uncontrollably.

Standing on the Great Wall was a figure watching everything. Fireclaw noticed from the cave after washing off his claw in a small spring and knew instantly who it was. Suspisions confirmed, he set off to warn the others. Ghenghis Rex was manipulating Pterano, and Fireclaw had just fallen for his trap. Fireclaw glared at Rex, and Rex returned the gesture. Hell was soon to follow.


	4. A Family Betrayed

I like plot twists! :D

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Chapter 4: A Family Betrayed

"So he knows. Somehow I knew it wouldn't take him long to find out. Rex always manages to find things out one way or another." Allo said.

"Yea, but how did he even catch wind of me even having it in the first place? It's not like anyone in the Great Valley even knows about you anyway save for the select few trustee's I know can handle the secret." Fireclaw replied.

Allo and Fireclaw were sitting in the control room of Lavadome drinking a cup of Reptillonian coffee. Fireclaw had no idea that Ghenghis Rex knew of his newly discovered ability, and now he knows he's going to exploit it in any way he can.

"Perhaps someone had come into contact with him before. Rex usually scouts areas of interest in order to plan something out, even if it fails." Allo said.

"That's my theory on it. Honestly though, even if somehow anyone had come into contact with Rex within that short timeframe of not even 18 hours, if I'm not mistaken, it just seems all too odd that it would just happen by chance. I just can't figure out how exactly he had such an early jump on it!" Fireclaw replied with a hint of frustration.

"You were saying something about the 'sharptooth' attack. Maybe that has something to do with it." Allo said. Suddenly Fireclaw felt some life return to him.

"Allo you could be onto something. Come to think of it, there wasn't a very large amount of sharpt- I'm sorry, Tyrannosaurs in the valley at the time to begin with. It's as if they were hoping to be killed off, maybe their expense was to try and prove that something even more interesting was going on, in my case splitting one's head open by dropping onto it. That just doesn't happen naturally. This sword's been the cause of it, yet now it feels as if it's a part of me." Fireclaw stated.

"Then what if he used that attack as a decoy? He knew you'd attack, even I would expect you to. You have the potential, and judging by everything you've explained thusfar I'd say you really don't hold back." Allo replied.

Teryx entered the room holding a small black box. The look on her face gave the impression that whatever was in it was definetely not a holiday gift.

"This just came in. I'm not sure what's in it, but the note left on it isn't very comforting either." Teryx said before handing the box to Fireclaw.

"I can only imagine." He said.

Fireclaw cut the small string the box was tied with with his claw. Upon removing the top, he could see a small, green crystal. At first he thought it was an emerald until he looked more closely. The inside was swirling, as if it was smoking on the inside but couldn't escape the confines of the stone. He twirled it in his fingers, closely examining it to see if he could recognize any physical features that would hint towards anything he'd seen before.

"Teryx, where's that note? This is interesting." Fireclaw said.

Teryx handed Fireclaw the note, it read: "He who wields the blade will know it's purpose. Use it wisely, for it's power is sensitive."

"Hmm. I've never seen something like this before. To be honest, I don't believe I've ever seen anything like this at all. Hell, I don't even know what it's used for in the first place, what do they expect me to do, just magically use it like I'm an expert or something?" Fireclaw said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Maybe we can run some tests on it to see if we can get it's mineral composition. Maybe we can see what it's made of then." Teryx suggested. Everyone agreed it would be the best decision.

Back at the Great Valley word had gotten around about the attack on Pterano. At first, Fireclaw was to blame, but thankfully the sonic listening device that Chomper had set up had been set to record as well. Once he'd played back the speech Pterano gave, everyone had begun to see a darker, more malevolent side of Pterano. Interestingly enough, he was also missing from the valley around the same time that everyone wanted answers from him. Chomper wasn't the least bit suspicious of the whole situation, and had no reason to be once he'd known Ghengis Rex had been there before. The Great Valley had been in an uproar all morning, with no sign of calming down, and even hunting parties were beginning to form as a result of Pterano's treachury.

"Well Petrie, I hate to tell you this, but I think your uncle's betrayed the Great Valley yet again, as expected." Chomper said to Petrie, sounding very matter-of-fact about it.

"I thought he was good!" Petrie said between sobs.

"Where is he now? Hiding like a coward?" Cera chided.

"Actually he's probably not. I have an idea of what he's doing right now, and if I'm right, well, he's going to die." Chomper replied. Bad move.

"You'll never kill Pterano! I won't let you!" Petrie screamed at Chomper between sobs before attempting to pound his forehead.

"Petrie, you can stop now, it's not really doing anything." Chomper said.

"Chomper, you have to understand, Pterano is part of his family. He's not willing to let someone, especially you or Fireclaw knowing what he can do try to kill him." Littlefoot said in Petrie's defense.

"Doesn't matter Littlefoot. You've already dealt with him once, you know his history, and nothing's changed even after all these years. To be honest I should've let Fireclaw blow his head off, at least then it would've saved us all the trouble we're having now!" Chomper replied in a cocky tone. This only pissed Petrie off even more.

"Chomper, it is not right that he has to die though, it is not." Ducky said.

"Ducky, do you know what treason means? It means betrayal. The punishment, and the only punishment for treason is death." Chomper replied. Petrie was crying so hard he was on the verge fainting.

"I'm not trying to come off negatively, but if you really want to stop Fireclaw, I'm not going to intervene. I'm only saying that once you get involved, for one you're not getting out just as easily, and another thing, you may end up in a worse situation than if you just leave this alone. Petrie, there's no point in worrying about Pterano now. He's going to die, no matter what." Chomper said. Everyone looked at him like he'd just commited a murder after he spoke to Petrie. Petrie continued to pound his forehead out of anger.

"Chomper that has to be easily the most messed up thing you've ever said." Littlefoot said, totally straight-faced.

"Do you even have a heart anymore, Chomper?" Cera asked.

"This is why I avoided bringing this up with you. I knew this would happen. I only told you so you didn't make the grown-ups mad by asking, because they're not in a good mood either. It was the least I could do." Chomper said, now showing some emotion other than the implied hatred.

"It's ok Chomper. It's just happening so fast, one second we can trust Pterano, the next second he's up for execution." Littlefoot said.

The radio that Chomper had clipped onto a utility belt began to beep.

"I have to take this. Listen, don't get involved. It's not the way to handle this." Chomper advised before walking away.

"Chomper to Lavadome, what's going on?" Chomper said.

"Chomper, it's Fireclaw, listen, be on the lookout for an unknown flyer. He's coming in hot from the north and has Tyranno written all over him. I think he's a new one, but still, you know what to do. I'll be there in approximately fifteen minutes max." Fireclaw relayed.

"Alright, will do. Armed or not?" Chomper asked.

"Armed. He could be carrying a weapon of some sort." Fireclaw replied.

Chomper looked up in the sky, not seeing anything. Chomper was on high alert, and took off in a dead sprint towards the already growing angry hivemind of mobbing dinosaurs to relay the message.

"Attention! There's an unknown flyer coming from the north! Be on the lookout, he could have a weapon! Any suspicious air activity is to be reported to myself or Grandpa Longneck immediately! It could signal an attack, be on high alert!" Chomper shouted. Everyone payed close attention, and looked towards the air. Suddenly the topics changed to theories on who it could be and what to do if they saw it. Chomper ran for the same cave he took the RPG out of recently in the last sharptooth attach and armed himself with a high-powered rifle equipped with a scope sensitive to any movements. He wanted to get the best shot he could if need be, and to take the target down in one shot if possible. After loading a full magazine of five high impact ballistics rounds, he walked back out to callibrate his sights.

Littlefoot and Cera were sitting by a small watering hole discussing the alert that Chomper signalled earlier.

"A mysterious flyer? You don't think this could be..." Littlefoot said.

"I hate to admit it Littlefoot but this very well could be Pterano. I hope I'm wrong, because he could be out for revenge." Cera replied.

"Something's not right here. Perhaps Fireclaw was right about Pterano after all." Littlefoot replied.

"You heard the conversation? Littlefoot, your grandpa said- "

"I don't care what he said! There are lives at stake! This is the time when you have to bend a few rules for the benefit of others, Cera! Pterano has killed in the past, nearly killed Ducky, and who's to say he won't try it again! Fireclaw has power, and guess who wants it!" Littlefoot nearly yelled in Cera's face.

"I guess you're right. What else did you hear, or see for that matter?" Cera asked curiously.

"Well, right before Fireclaw slammed Pterano against the ground and a bunch of trees, he said something about betrayal. Could Pterano have actually betrayed us?" Littlefoot said.

A gunshot cut their conversation short. Littlefoot and Cera turned behind them to see Chomper standing on a hilltop test firing the rifle. He took another shot, the loud bang and the percussion hurting their ears just as much as the last. Everyone hated when Fireclaw or Chomper tested weapons because they were always so loud. The recoil from the rifle nearly sent Chomper flying. The gun's barrel kicked straight into the air, leaving Chomper to lower it back down slowly due to the force of the recoil against his shoulder. They saw him pull the bolt back and load another round in, anticipating yet another nearly deafening blast.

"You know Chomper, if you want to be loud, you can always do that outside the valley too!" Cera yelled to him sarcastically.

"THink that's going to do anything Cera? Rifles are usually supposed to be loud!" Chomper yelled back.

Chomper fired the rifle one last time into a tree trunk just to tease Cera with the noise. She could never understand how he or Fireclaw could fire guns without ear protection.

At Lavadome, Fireclaw, Allo's nephew Ryker, also of Allosaur descent and Dimetro were working on an experimental weapon they called the E.P.C., or ElectroPulse Cannon. It's a weapon designed to deliver a high-powered focused beam of electromagnetic energy, creating a straight lightning beam and enabling them to punch through nearly any armor using extreme heat and electrical energy if it was made of metal or if contact with flesh was made. Fireclaw was first up to test fire it. He held the cannon over his shoulder like a heavy missile launcher, aimed out into a small field where they usually conducted explosives tests and fired. A loud thunderous boom punched through the air, generating a sonic shockwave as the beam was focued out of the revolving kinetic dynamo head. The cannon kicked straight upward, leaving Fireclaw a bit disoriented after pulling the trigger. The targeting sight which was sticking off to the left side hit him in the eye when he fired it, breaking skin just above his eyebrow. The shell casing for the high voltage EMP battery flew almost ten yards back from where Fireclaw was standing.

"Damn, that was a bit much, don't you think?" Fireclaw asked aloud.

"That was the most impressive test we've done all day. I have a recoil supressor as well, but I didn't believe you could fire this without it." Dimetro replied back. Suddenly Fireclaw looked a bit angry.

"So I didn't have to take this eyepiece to the face?" He asked back, pointing to the optical sight that recoiled straight into his eye.

"We needed to gauge the amount of recoil coming off of the barrel of the gun when you fired it. We do that for statistics reasons, really. It's just so that we can make weapons that don't even need recoil stoppers later on down the road." Ryker said. Ryker was watching a small computer station set up off to the side to monitor accuracy, recoil, loudness, and target and environmental damage as well.

"Well you got your stats, now can we fire this with something to keep my face from being assaulted again?" Fireclaw called back.

Suddenly a red siren light came on over one of the light posts set out on the firing range. Whenever these come on, things are never good. The last time was during a supposed bombing raid which ultimately never happened.

Fireclaw kicked in the control room door. This was a normal thing for him whenever there was an emergency.

"Damnit Fireclaw! Must you always kick in sliding doors?" Allo yelled at him.

"Well then why the hell are the lights on? What's going on?" Fireclaw said nearly out of breath.

"Aside from getting a new door, I've got something you wanna see." Allo replied.

"Ok, let me see it. Is it the results from the scan you were running on that weird smoky gem?" Fireclaw asked.

"Worse. I think you'll get a kick out of this."

Allo pulled up a recorded video conversation between him and Ghenghis Rex. It was mostly arguing and Rex's narcisim, but then something caught Allo's eye. He hadn't remembered Rex ever having a Pterosaur as a Tyranno. He noticed that it also looked like someone he'd seen before. As Allo fast-fowarded through the conversation, just around twenty minutes in was when he saw it. Fireclaw's eyes widened.

"What. The. Hell." was all Fireclaw could even mutter.

"Fireclaw, does he look familiar? Didn't we see him last time we went to the Great Valley? Actually, better question, isn't that your air corps commander?" Allo asked.

"I knew it. Allo, I hate to say this, but you're right. Does he have a name?" Fireclaw asked.

"Other than Pterano, Terrible-Dactyl. New recruit as of I believe three hours ago. He was apparently unconsious after a beating you gave him." Allo replied.

"How the hell did you find this out?"

"Ghenghis Rex explained everything as if he was trying to brag about it. He's really got it in him to attempt to go against us, but now more specifically you because of that sword. I'd practice if I were you, he's working on a project we managed to intercept called 'Tyranno-X'. I don't know what it is, but whatever it will be it doesn't sound like something we want to encounter." Allo said.

"Then this is how it ends, Pterano. Better watch yourself, because this time I will kill you."


	5. The Emeralds

Like where this is going? Be sure to stay updated on the story, It's getting more interesting!

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Chapter 5: The Emerald

"Fireclaw! Fi-Cl-." The last radio communication Fireclaw recieved from the Great Valley's radio frequency. He tried to radio back, but to no avail. The line was dead, and Fireclaw grew frustrated.

Fireclaw flipped a targeting switch on the dashboard of the small dropship he got from Allo back at Lavadome. Trying to pilot the aircraft, he calibrated his targeting systems to get the most accurate shot with a new weapon Allo had shipped in from Reptillon. Under his ship in the cargo hold now converted weapon hangar was an experimental ultrasonic railgun. Capable of punching through nearly ten feet of stainless steel, this weapon could pack a serious punch for nearly any reason needed. All he needed to do was to get the targeting system to recognise what weapon it was and how accurate it needed to be. Fireclaw performed a number of flight patterns that involved rolls, flips, turns and twists in order to get the weapon system used to quick movements. He liked to call these "twitch shots" because of the twitching the ship can create when trying to flatten out for a shot.

A small buzzer indicated that he was being locked on to. Fireclaw immediately rolled hard to the right, narrowly dodging a missile flying over his left wing.

"What the- " Another missile flew past, this time nearly taking out his right wing.

"Someone knows how to aim." Fireclaw said to himself.

He pulled the small ship into a backwards roll, lowering the railgun out of the cargo bay as he pulled up. The charge was at eighty percent. Charging the rest would give him just enough time to pull behind his attacker and sight the railgun in. As he leveled out, he recognized right away who's ship he was about to knock down.

"So Quackpot, trying to take me down, huh?" Fireclaw asked antagonizingly.

He recognized his laugh and shut off the recieving end of his radio to ignore it. Once Fireclaw was totally level and ready to fire, he turned his radio back on one last time. Judging by what Quackpot was saying, he was utterly confused and lost. It would be his last mistake.

"Hey Quackpot, check out my new gun!" Fireclaw shouted over the radio.

Quackpot managed to turn broadside towards Fireclaw in an attempt to get a better view. Seizing the opportunity, Fireclaw pulled the trigger. An impressive shockwave burst from under the railgun, a bright beam of light followed by an explosion and metal fragments signified that he had a hit. Quackpot's rear half was destroyed instantly by an ultrasonic railgun blast, sending metal fragments from his ship in every direction. He could hear Quackpot screaming as his ship fell straight for Earth.

"Bet you didn't see that coming." Fireclaw said to himself.

"Uhh Fireclaw, sorry to interrupt your moment of pride there, but we've got bigger problems! Ghenghis Rex has something attached to his ship that's glowing bright green, and I think it's going to blow something up! Wait, scratch that, it just turned red. What the hell?" Fireclaw managed to recieve just this just a mile out of the Great Valley.

"Ok, on my way Chomp, just hold your own for a while, get everyone to cover!" Fireclaw relayed back, unsure as to if he would even get it.

The ship jarred hard against something as Fireclaw rammed it trying to raise the railgun. The railgun has just detached, and Fireclaw couldn't pull the ship back up! He sat there, waiting for the impending crash. Tree after tree he took out trying to regain control, his ship going straight for the ground fast. He was so close to the Great Valley now that if he could just pull his ship a little higher he could see over the ridge that was blocking his view. As he pulled up on the control wheel, the ship ascended slightly before totalling itself on a very thick tree. A rear afterburner was torn clean off with a loud bang. Fireclaw let go of the controls and watched the ground come up quick. Once the ship made contact, he was thrown backwards hard, hitting the back wall of the cockpit. The ship finally came to a stop just short of another tree trunk.

"I'm a horrible pilot. No wonder Allo never made me head of an air defense team." Fireclaw said to himself.

He kicked out the windshield and climbed out. Looking around, he managed to total the dropship within fifty yards of the Great Wall. Not too bad of an aim for him, considering he's never piloted a drop ship with a weapon attached. The damage was done though. With one wing embedded in a tree, another wing crumpled beyond repair and the body of the ship itself in horrible condition, he wasn't getting back into the air again. Once he was able to climb to the top of the ridge, he saw that Ghenghis Rex did in fact have a weapon all his own. An Ion-Splitter with the capability of knocking the top off of a mountain was ready to deal some major damage. The Ion-Splitter has a top and bottom portion, with an induction rod in the middle. The smaller rod builds energy, and the opened halves amplify the energy up to five hundred times. Once fully charged, the cannon focuses the energy into a straight beam, causing an explosion powerful enough to rock a city to it's foundation. Rex's cannon was just about there.

"Chomper, can you try and get a shot off to disarm that weapon?" Fireclaw radioed out.

"Don't think it'll be possible. I can't see any way to disarm it without causing it to melt down mid-air. Looks like we're going to have to do it the hard way." Chomper said.

"Hope you know what that way is, I just totalled our means of transportation." Fireclaw said with a laugh.

"You stupid ass! You totalled Allo's only weapon-capable dropship? Honestly? He's gonna be so pissed when you have to tell him where it is." Chomper yelled back through the radio.

"Ya know, for growing up around Littlefoot and them, you have a rather colorful vocabulary." Fireclaw joked.

"Piss off." Was his reply.

A gunshot pierced the air, followed by a spark Fireclaw could see bounce off of the steel plated armor the cannon was surrounded with. A few seconds later, the cannon began to turn towards Fireclaw. Fireclaw sprinted for his life as a high pitched sound was emitted from the cannon. Fireclaw dove behind a rock to avoid the bright red column of plasma energy that nearly vapourized him. The heat was so intense it nearly set his tail on fire from almost ten feet away. Fireclaw turned and fired his .357 at the windshield of Rex's fighter ship, hoping to hit him at least once. He missed all six rounds. He holstered the magnum and pulled his USP off of his other leg, emptying yet another unsuccessful clip into the ship's hardened armored shell. One managed to hit the windshield, but not close enough to Rex to do any damage. Fireclaw had to keep moving. The cannon would destroy any cover he had when it fired. Another red column nearly incinerated him as Rex attempted to fire in front of him. Fireclaw saw this coming and dove backward as the beam burned straight through the hillside, reducing solid rock into a molten, soupy death trap.

Fireclaw tried to refrain from using his sword's power to give the impression that he didn't have it, but if he was going to stop Rex's Ion-Ripper, now was the chance. He stood up, unsheathed the sword off of his back and raised it into the air. He focused this time on the heat the magma that Rex had beamed into the hillside was giving off. Fireclaw began to channel that energy straight into his sword. This was drawing magma off of the ground and creating a whip off of his sword handle. The magma swirled in a long column in the air as Fireclaw had to hold his focus on this newly improvised weapon, which wasn't proving as easy as he'd though. Ghenghis Rex tried to get a shot off of with the cannon, but it wasn't yet heated enough to fire. In the more stable state it became easy for Fireclaw to sever it from the bottom of the ship with a horizontal whip attack from the molten whip. He spun the whip around him and brought it down in an attempt to slice the ship in half. Rex activated an emergency thruster, barely avoiding the flaming column as it came hurdling down towards the earth. Fireclaw was focusing on making it longer at the same time, and surprisingly to him it was working. Rex put it into overdrive and fled before Fireclaw could hit him again. He was just out of reach of a straight-on whip attack Fireclaw attempted to try to knock him out of the air.

The whip retracted into a small pool as Fireclaw disbanded it. He felt a sense of dread as he came out of his power driven euphoria, knowing that Ghenghis Rex knows he's got a unique power that could prove catastrophic if he manages to get a hold of it. Pterano was no longer the main threat towards the sword's power. Rex has a greater chance of getting it to work anywhere than Pterano ever could, anyway.

"Chomper! You alright? Talk to me!" Fireclaw yelled out.

"Down here! I'm good, just about got beamed though. Thing came extremely close the first time he fired it." Chomper replied. He'd hidden between two large boulders directly under where Fireclaw was standing.

Fireclaw used a small grappling hook he kept on his tactical vest to rappel down the small cliff. Chomper climbed out of the hole and pulled up with him something that caught Fireclaw's attention.

"Chomper, where'd you get that?"

"This?" Chomper replied, holding up a small gem similar to the one that Allo had found. This one was smaller in size, but was the exact same as the last one that had been delivered to Lavadome.

"We have another one back at Lavadome too. Exact same, where'd you get this?" Fireclaw asked.

"I found it over there." Chomper said. He pointed to a small crevice behind him. There was an odd greenish glow eminating from the crack. Fireclaw went over to have a look

"Chomper, check this out!"

"Wow! There's a hole vein of them in there! What is this exactly?"

Fireclaw and Chomper have just discovered a very large deposit of these mysterious gems. Fireclaw's sword began to react oddly when standing near the crack. His sword began to glow with a hint of green, almost the same color as the small emeralds. Fireclaw took out his sword and smashed a hole in the wall with great force. The deposit was much bigger than they thought. Fireclaw's sword was going crazy when he stuck it into the hole. It vibrated very hard and was glowing brighter than the gems themselves. He used a heated slice to sear off a small gem. Fireclaw suddenly got an idea.

"Chomper, I wonder if this smokey substance inside has anything to do with the sword." Fireclaw said.

"Well break it, let's see what happens." Chomper replied.

Fireclaw crushed the gem with one claw, then forced it open, arm extended. A very loud blast followed with a bright green cone of light burst from his open claw, sending leaves from a nearby tree flying. He looked down at the small shards he was holding, quite impressed.

"Wait let me try!" Chomper said.

Chomper took one, crushed it against his knee, then did exactly as Fireclaw had done. Same result, only stronger because of the larger crystal he broke.

"Chomper, I hope you're interested in getting a new piece of armor, because I have an idea as to what to do with these." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw stomped the ground collapsing rocks from above them down over the hole. They weren't going to risk anything losing these.

Chomper and Fireclaw walked out of the woods after managing their way through thick trees and shrubbery to be met by silence. It was eerily quiet around the Great Valley for being early in the afternoon. As they walked, they could see large amounts of footprints that weren't native to the Great Valley. Identifying footprints was a useless skill Fireclaw had learned after living there for so long. They could find no one at all. It's as if everyone had just left and not told them at all.

"Chomper, something doesn't seem right. Where is everyone?" Fireclaw asked.

"Good question. They were here this morning. At least before Ghenghis Rex attacked. I told them to take cover, but I think they just up and took off instead." Chomper replied.

"Probably not the case. They wouldn't just leave the Great Valley so easily. That's definetely not the case. Remember the last time a war nearly broke out because Redclaw decided it was his time of the month again?" Fireclaw replied.

"Hmm, good point. Okay then, looks like we have to find them, right?"

"Possibly not. We can try a bio-scan and see if we can pinpoint them on radar."

"You wrecked the ship, Fireclaw! We don't have radar equipment!" Chomper yelled in Fireclaw's face.

"Would you believe me if I told you I kept one in case of emergencies?"

Chomper's face showed a hint of confusion when Fireclaw said that.

"You have a radar kit here? Are you serious?" Chomper asked.

"In all honesty. I stashed one away a long time ago, just for something like this. Either that or to be creepy and stuff." Fireclaw replied.

"Wow, so you do come prepared." Chomper replied sarcastically.

"Come on, we can try some scans and see if anything comes up. I already have ping stations set up so that we can cover the most distance we can with this thing."

Someone yet again had been watching, this time totally undetected. Terrible-Dactyl hung down from a tree across the Valley as he watched Fireclaw and Chomper walk back to the cave they lived in.

"Yes Fireclaw, scan the area hehe. I'm eager to see how you'll enjoy what Rex has in store for you." Terrible-Dactyl said with a chuckle. He flipped himself back up and flew off.


	6. Awakening of Eldin, Fury of Fireclaw

Alright! If you thought the story was going to stay on the lighter side, then prepare to find out why the story's called Flames of Wrath!

* * *

Chapter 6: Awakening of Eldin, Fury of Fireclaw

"Here we go Chomper, we've got a small concentration of life about 3 miles north and 5 miles west of our current location. This time I can guarantee it's not plant forms either!" Fireclaw said enthusiastically. He and Chomper were beginning to grow frustrated after multiple attempts of scans were coming up as failures or nothing even showing up at all.

"Alright! Finally, now we get to see where everyone decided to go hide on us ran to!" Chomper shouted.

Chomper and Fireclaw grabbed nearly any weapon they had nearby. Chomper grabbed the rifle he used earlier to attempt to shoot down Rex's ship with, his 9mm Beretta that Fireclaw issued him after barely passing a basic weapons course during initiation, and his tactical vest consisting of three fragmentation grenades and three magazines for each weapon. Fireclaw grabbed an MRL-4, a Reptillon based missile launcher capable of firing up to four rocket propelled grenades at once with very good accuracy. This saved him once during a riot. Along with the MRL, he fit a small assault rifle onto a clip placed onto the side of his backpack. Underneath the canvas field pack was his sword. Fireclaw preferred to have powerful sidearms, so he decided to have his primary be yet another Smith and Wesson, only this time his .357 would be accompanied by a .44 magnum, which he stole from Allo before he took the ship back to the Great Valley. Fireclaw was brutal when it came to weapon selection, and would've grabbed a minigun out of Lavadome's arsenal if he was able to carry it quickly.

Standing at the mouth of their cave, Fireclaw looked Chomper directly in the eye, and said a few final words for luck before departing.

"Look Chomper, the reason everything's been short and sweet so far is because I know he's luring us into something. Listen, it's situations like this where somebody is leaving dead. Hopefully tonight it won't be us or anybody we know or love, because damnit we're going to make them regret ever being hatched!" Fireclaw said aggressively.

"And Fireclaw, if for some reason you decide to lose your cool, I've got your back. Toss me the grenade launcher and I'll see to it that Rex's army becomes a massive bloodstain." Chomper said equally as aggressive. Fireclaw's sword began to glow red again with his anger. The blade was able to reflect it's power based off of his emotions, which usually lead to anger.

Fireclaw and Chomper attached wing kits to their armor, which acted the same as a skydiver's wingsuit. They base jumped off of the ledge, and spread themselves out to get air. They glided to the ground gracefully, rolling upon impact. They got to their feet and headed for the hills. They could only hope that they didn't get killed, Rex has been known to be able to get large amounts of troops to one place quickly. Allo has yet to see this trait of his in action, and Fireclaw usually never tells him for the sake that he becomes super paranoid.

They climbed up a large hill, and with the help of Dimetro, they were air lifted to their destination.

"Alright! This is it! Dimetro, hover just above that treeline!" Fireclaw shouted over the engines. He opened a drop hatch and prepared to dive straight for the ground.

Dimetro hovered his aircraft just above a small grove of trees. If Fireclaw and Chomper landed exactly in this grove, they'd have enough cover to progress without being detected by even the keenest of sharpteeth.

"Alright Chomper, You ready?" Fireclaw yelled.

"Ready as ever, let's kick some ass!" Chomper yelled back.

"I'll be on stand-by in case you need me." Dimetro said over the intercom.

"Dimetro, head back to Lavadome and prepare to launch the Trinity Missile! I want these assholes to feel just how much I hate them!" Fireclaw shouted in reply. He loved talking about nukes.

"Alright Fireclaw! On your go!" Chomper yelled.

"Three, two, one!"

Chomper and Fireclaw slipped through the rectangular hatch and into freefall. They guided themselves for the trees, hoping not to impale themselves on a loose branch.

"This is going to be a risky landing Chomper, watch yourself." Fireclaw said over a small earpiece radio.

"Noted. Be careful yourself!" Chomper replied.

After what felt like forever they hit ground. The soft ground of the forest floor helped dampen the fall. They detached their parachutes and began to look around the area. Chomper fastened a silencer to his pistol.

"Alright Chomper, this little congregation is just up ahead about a hundred or so yards. You ready to slit some throats?" Fireclaw asked.

"I'm ready to go. Let's show them what it means to fight like Dinosquad 6!"

They advanced through the tangled mess of trees protruding from the ground. They moved silently and quickly, like fast biters ready to kill their prey. As though closing in on prey, they advanced as fast as they could for a small parting in the trees, ready for an ambush. An ambush was all too likely in this situation and environment.

Taking cover behind a tree on each side of the small path, Fireclaw and Chomper nodded when ready to attack. They gave each other a brief breather before advancing out.

"Alright Chomper, this is it. Give em' hell." Fireclaw said into his radio between breaths.

"On three. One, two, three!"

Fireclaw and Chomper rolled out into the clearing, but were shocked to be greeted by nothing. Not even an armed guard posted in front of a cave. They checked their surroundings, sure that they were about to get filled with bullets or laser beams any second. Making full circles around each other, they checked every hill around them, but could find nothing. To their right was a small cliff which they both inspected for snipers, but nothing turned up.

"What? Don't tell me that scan was a failure!" Fireclaw said angrily.

"Check your monitor on your arm, it may not be." Chomper replied.

"It says they're here! Where the hell is everyone?" Fireclaw shouted.

"I have a very bad feeling that maybe that hill over there is hiding something." Chomper said, pointing to the hill directly in front of them with the muzzle of his rifle. Fireclaw felt a sense of dread upon hearing that.

"Well, what do we have to lose? Ready Chomper, hopefully we don't get wasted up here." Fireclaw said nervously.

They walked up the hill and weren't dissapointed by what greeted them just over it. About ten yards head stood a green Tyrannosaur about Ghenghis Rex's height wearing a long trenchcoat with a butler's jacket touch towards the bottom. He was accompanied on both sides by two fast-biters, who were normal dinosaurs compared to their master. In front of them were Petrie, Littlefoot, Ducky, Cera, Spike and much to their surprise Shorty. Fireclaw could sense something was up, and his sword began to glow a bright red, indicating that he was only growing more infuriated.

"Chomper, what does this look like to you?" Fireclaw asked over radio to prevent any noise.

"I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt they have guns, maybe they're showing them something?" Chomper replied.

"Don't say guns right now. I don't want to have to deal with a firing squad execution right now, especially with Littlefoot and his friends." Fireclaw replied dreadfully.

As they moved closer, six armed guards apparently assigned to each dinosaur moved out of the woods and stood behind them. They walked in a very militaristic way, single file, marching, weapons held a certain way. He saw that the weapons they had were fossilizers, kind of interesting that they'd have those because a fossilizer isn't lethal.

"Oh wonderful! Our guests have arrived!" The Tyrannosaur said.

"Let them go! You sadistic bastard, who the hell are you anyway to take kids hostage! Turn and face me!" Fireclaw shouted.

The Tyrannosaur turned around. Fireclaw and Chomper both recognized the deep red scar running from his eye straight down to his right index claw. Redclaw somehow managed to gain a humanoid form, exactly as a dinosaucer's form is. Fireclaw could only assume that this was the work of Ghenghis Rex.

"Isn't it marvelous? I no longer walk as one of those archaic beasts! I have intelligence, power, new found physique! All thanks to who you hate most, Fireclaw." Redclaw taunted. His accent sounded almost identical to Pterano's.

"Redclaw, you may have a new form, but you're still the same son of a bitch I've always known. So long as you breathe, I'll hunt you just like all those you've hunted before. Let me guess, you're perfect leaf eater also came from him, didn't it?" Fireclaw asked.

"You're so clever, Fireclaw. You sure do learn quickly, don't you?" Redclaw responded. Screech and Thud stood unusually obedient at his side. Thud looked as though he'd been severely beaten a few times.

"Your vocabulary tells me you've been choking on some recently, is that something Rex taught you too?" Fireclaw joked.

"You dare insult me in such a manner? Very well, allow me to demonstrate my authority in a way that may even, oh what's the term, 'piss you right off'." Redclaw replied. Chomper's mouth was wide open as he listened to the conversation between Fireclaw and Redclaw. He never thought he'd see the the day that Redclaw actually becomes a legitimate threat.

"Two claws hate each other, ironic." Chomper said to himself.

"I dare you Redclaw. Go ahead, drive me insane, I'd love to see you try haha!" Fireclaw retorted back.

"I never thought you'd ask."

Redclaw motioned his arm as a signal. He could hear something struggling very loudly, followed by swearing and threats. After what sounded like a long struggle, Grandma Longneck was brought out before everyone. Littlefoot and his friends were turned around to bear witness to something just plain awful. Fireclaw began to see red again. His eyes began to glow a bright red, though he felt as if he could go even further.

"Drop her down right in front. I want the best view possible for this magnificent show!" Redclaw shouted to the group of Tyrannos tugging against the steel cords that were attached to a steel collar around Grandma Longneck's neck. An electrical pulse was sent up the cords, dropping her instantly to her knees. She groaned in pain as she went down. She was coated with dried blood, cuts and bruises were scattered all over her now fragile and broken body. Leading the Tyrannos onward was Terrible-Dactyl, carrying a rather large anti-tank rifle, one that could be used to punch through brick walls with no trouble at all.

"If you even fire one round Fireclaw or Chomper, I execute the children as well." Redclaw shouted at them.

Fireclaw and Chomper looked on, powerless to do anything in fear that Littlefoot and his friends would be killed. Fireclaw maintained his distance from Redclaw in order to keep himself under control, but the urge to kill was growing even stronger. Fireclaw's eyes darted quickly, looking for a potential target to take a shot at first. Everyone he targeted was within reach of the kids. Now or never, he'd have to make the shot eventually.

"Well well, Fireclaw can't do anything to save his precious friends. How does it feel to be helpless, Fireclaw, especially after what you did to me!" Terrible-Dactyl took off the pilot's helmet to reveal a very battered and scarred face. Fireclaw and Chomper couldn't believe their eyes. Pterano betrayed everyone. Pterano loaded three rounds into the rifle, which were easily six inches long.

"There's no way in hell Pterano's going through with this. This is a scare tactic Fireclaw, don't freak out now!" Chomper radioed. Fireclaw didn't hear him.

"See here, Fireclaw. This is the Grandmother of Littlefoot. I'm sure you know her quite well. Pterano here was banished in a joint decision by her mate and herself many cold times ago. You know what they say, Fireclaw, an eye for an eye-"

"Makes the whole world blind." Fireclaw finished Redclaw's sentence.

"Maybe in your case, but let's just see if she agrees." Redclaw replied.

"LLLIIIIIRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA" A loud voice boomed out, much louder than a sharptooth's roar.

"What the hell was that?" Chomper asked.

"Eldin's angry..." Fireclaw replied. His voice sounded like a demonic echo, as if hundreds of demons were speaking for him at the same time, all in very low tones.

Fireclaw began to grow dark black streaks that swirled just above his arms, beginning from the tip of his sword. Chomper noticed right away and began to back away.

"I can see you're angry Fireclaw, and now to fulfill your request. You want insanity, I give you fury-driven insanity exactly as you wanted, Fireclaw! Now enjoy!" Redclaw said with a sinister cackle.

Grandma Longneck looked up at Littlefoot one last time.

"Don't look little one, I'll be alright. I love you Littlefoot." Grandma Longneck said quietly and softly.

"I'll miss you, grandma." Littlefoot said between quiet sobs. Tears dripped off of the tip of his nose and onto the soft dirt below him.

"Dear Littlefoot, please understand that it's for her own good, and it has nothing to do with you." Pterano said with his usual snide-sounding voice.

Littlefoot glared at Pterano, who looked him in the eye and a shot rang out. A very loud bang ripped the air like paper. The rifle flew into the air, yet Grandma Longneck was fine. She opened her eyes and looked around startled. She turned to see Pterano stumbling from a bullet wound to the shoulder.

"You bastard!" He shouted.

Chomper stood holding his rifle to his shoulder waiting for another shot. Redclaw made a gesture, and the guards raised their weapons. Grandma Longneck took them out with her tail, then rolled over onto the guard to her right. Chomper shot the one to her left in the head. He turned and retreated into the woods afterwards to set up communications if they were needed urgently.

"A quick thinker, as always. Shame you didn't think this would happen." Redclaw said as he produced a pistol from under his coat.

Fireclaw lost it. He dropped all of his equipment, unsheathed his sword and thrust it skyward. The blade was much longer now, and was turning itself from it's original broadsword form into a very heavy, broad Claymore. Fireclaw's skin complexion turned blacker than midnight itself, his fury was now in control. He levitated off of the ground, holding the blade straight into the air as he did so. Dark storm clouds began to swirl overhead, lightning flashed, and thunder cracked like whips as Fireclaw began to build power. This kind of fury was nothing like any other emotion he'd ever felt before. It was sweet to the taste, yet he hated everything around him. He could no longer think rationally, anything that could breathe was now a target, and he was ready to commit a genocide with his bare claws. A beam of light engulfed Fireclaw as he hovered at least twenty feet off of the ground. The clouds began to swirl faster, the white light surrounding Fireclaw turned a bright shade of red. The guards behind the children ran for their lives, only to be impaled by long rock shafts Fireclaw rose from the ground. He let the sword go, and it levitated a little higher than he was. Suddenly, the blade spun itself in a circle, then turned into a full on star of sword blades. Six sword blades protruded in all angles, the one handle on his sword now forming a circular base for him to grab, making it easy to spin.

Chomper rescued the children while Redclaw stood waiting for Fireclaw to make a move. A bit phased, but he felt slightly more confident that he would have liked.

"Oh Redclaw, did you really think it was just me you'd have to face? Do you know the real reason everyone looks up to Grandpa Longneck so much? I have a demonstration of my own as well, and I'd like to show you now, you heartless bastard. I'd like you to meet Eldin, also known as the mate of who you failed to kill!" Fireclaw boomed out.

The ground began to shake heavily to the beat of footsteps. Slow and steady, trees falling and crunching in the woods directly behind Redclaw, the awakened monster approached.

"So long has he remained dormant. Eldin is a force to reckon with! His power is one that can make smoking mountains erupt at his will! Your actions have awoken something that now not even I can control! Why don't you look for yourself? You're a coward. You would have killed an innocent's grandparent for the sake of taunting the enemy. They say everything has a price to pay, you ignorant sadist, and that price will be your head!"

"Eldin?" Redclaw asked under his breath.

Redclaw turned around, and his eyes widened. Pterano had run back into the woods, abandoning Redclaw with Fireclaw and the gigantic monster that came stomping over the treeline. The once docile Longneck now stood upright almost five stories tall, eyes glowing with the fury of the sun itself. His skin turned black, with a blood red figure-eight pattern running down his back. In his hand was a tree.

"I'm the coward? I can't even float. Why don't you come down here and fight me like a real sharptooth would?" Redclaw said.

"I'd be obliged if you hadn't nearly killed Grandma Longneck out of cold blood." Fireclaw replied.

Redclaw ducked just in time to miss the swinging tree coming at him fast. A back swing knocked him off of his feet and sent him sailing backwards. He landed in a roll and stopped face down.

"Alright then Fireclaw, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get!" Redclaw shouted.

"Yes, that's exactly what I want from you you shameful prick!"

Fireclaw lowered himself to the ground and signaled for Eldin to stand back. Fireclaw spun the star blade over his head as he approached Redclaw.

Redclaw unsheathed two very elegant looking daggers, each a foot long that were conceiled on each leg by a thigh strap. He spun backward, attempting a downward stab on Fireclaw. Fireclaw dodged this and countered with a hard knee the stomach as he moved in close. Following his knee he turned for a hard roundhouse kick, sending him flying towards Eldin. Eldin stopped him with his foot before kicking him back towards Fireclaw. Redclaw rolled out of the way and swung a dagger up, barely clipping Eldin's leg. Eldin swung his tail in retaliation, catching the dagger and sending it sailing into a tree. Redclaw looked once at his dagger,rolled under Eldin's massive foot, stabbing him in the other as he leveled himself. He tried to stab again but Eldin took him out with his tail, sending him sprawling again. Eldin took the tree and tried to smash Redclaw's head with it. Redclaw yet again rolled and attempted a slash at his ankle. Eldin lifted his foot and swept him with the tree, throwing him again towards Fireclaw. Fireclaw readed himself with the blade in hopes of catching him on it, but Redclaw thought quickly and positioned himself in a way that he missed a blade, and collided straight with Fireclaw, sending them both backwards. They tangled for the dagger that Redclaw dropped when he collided with Fireclaw. Redclaw sat on top of Fireclaw, attempting to stab him in the neck, but Fireclaw punched him in the face. Redclaw stumbled backward, and Fireclaw tackled him, grabbing the dagger and forcing it towards his face. Redclaw grabbed Fireclaw's wrist as he tried to stab him and pushed it away, attempting to elbow him. Fireclaw rolled clear and grabbed the dagger.

"You're good, Fireclaw. You're very good." Redclaw taunted.

"You fought Eldin more than I. I thought you wanted to do battle?" Fireclaw taunted back.

Redclaw attempted a tackle but instead met the claw on Fireclaw's heel. Blood gushed from the would above his eye. Fireclaw then charged forward and leaped into him crushing his ribs with a well placed knee. Redclaw fell to the ground and gasped for air. Fireclaw picked up a rock and bashed him on the head with it, knocking him unconscious.

Fireclaw looked at Eldin and nodded. Eldin returned the gesture and walked back into the woods. Fireclaw crouched over the concussed Redclaw and searched him for weapons. His pulse was fine, though Fireclaw wanted to kill him. He had a better idea instead. He'd always known Redclaw to be easily persuaded, something that not many would know unless they actually knew Redclaw on a more personal level. Many encounters with him taught Fireclaw this.

After binding Redclaw with some vines, he looked at the dagger he picked up.

"Hm, it's a nice blade. Wonder where he got this." Fireclaw said.

After retrieving the other one that embedded itself into a treetrunk, Fireclaw radioed in for an evacuation.

About ten minutes later, a Dinosaucer dropship landed nearby. Chomper opened the door and jumped out. Fireclaw picked up Redclaw over his shoulder and carried him to the ship.

"You alright?" Chomper asked.

"Yea, I'm fine. Slight headache, probably from the adrenaline, but I'm fine." Fireclaw replied.

"On the bright side, good thing I took that rocket launcher before you got a chance to use it." Chomper joked.

"Yea, probably." Fireclaw said with a laugh.

Chomper closed the door behind him and the dropship left for Lavadome. Fireclaw was glad to be flying back rather than walking.


	7. An Offer of Salvation

Close one. Real close one. Do Fireclaw's feelings get in the way of his judgement, though?

* * *

Chapter 7: An Offer of Salvation

The trip back to Lavadome wasn't a comfortable one. The thoughts of what happened previously that day still clung to Fireclaw's mind. How could Pterano, the uncle of Petrie and well known (for many different reasons) name of the Great Valley almost kill Littlefoot's grandmother? Fireclaw knew that Redclaw would be executed for this, but no one was killed. At least no one important. Redclaw was always easy to convince. He was power hungry, yet also a coward. Its a little known fact about him that most don't ever get to actually know unless they know him personally, and being a sharptooth, it was a nonexistant number.

When Redclaw came to, he was lying on a cold bunk in Lavadome's prison unit. It was a small corridor consisting of four cells, each a small concrete room with heavy iron bars and heavy sliding doors. Redclaw sat up, trying to figure out where he was, when he saw Fireclaw sitting in the hallway watching. Fireclaw was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall waiting for him to wake up.

"No use in putting up a fight now Redclaw. You're in there whether you like it or not." Fireclaw said.

"Where am I? What's going on? What happened?" Redclaw kept asking.

"Calm down, Redclaw. You're at Lavadome right now, and I'm sure you can figure out the rest. I'm sure now you're starting to let the situation sink in." Fireclaw replied calmly.

"So, you've decided to let me live. What a gracious thing to do for an enemy!" Redclaw retorted.

"Well, actually you're up for execution in less than twelve hours. It's a rather unorthodox punishment given Allo's standards, but he hasn't been here in a while. It's also my choice as to how you die. I can change that, but only if you'll be willing to work with me." Fireclaw replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Work with you? Ha! I'd rather just rot here than work with a bastard sharptooth! You're not even full blood, how can you possibly even consider yourself anything at all!"

Fireclaw opened the cell door, walked in and grabbed Redclaw by the throat. He then slammed him up against the wall hard with one claw.

"Listen to me, I'm offering you a chance to redeem your sorry ass, I can walk out and let you rot until I decide to figure out how to dispose of your sad, disgrace of a corpse! Do you really want me to do that? Think about it Redclaw, you're a pawn! You're worthless! You're an experiment! Rex altered your genetics to turn you into a weapon!" Fireclaw growled in Redclaw's face. Redclaw gasped for air as Fireclaw dropped him to the floor.

"What? Ghenghis Rex would never-"

"What makes you so sure? He's done the exact same thing before, and failed. Wanna know who? Here's the kicker, Redclaw, it was YOUR OWN SON." Fireclaw nearly shouted.

"My son was killed by a rival sharptooth herd! I know how he died, and don't you bring him into this!" Redclaw shouted back.

"Sure, that's what you were told. He didn't just go missing under your nose, Redclaw. He was captured by Rex and a group of his finest troops to ensure that the capture was successful. You never heard about it because you were told that he was killed by a rival sharptooth. Your only son was used in an experiment the same way you're being used now, his genetics were altered to give him the same form you have now. This form is actually a half-way point in this experiment, because it opens up your genetic code to be easily altered. Unfortunately for him though, the next part was what killed him." Fireclaw explained coldly.

"The next part, what is the next part?" Redclaw asked curiously.

"The brain chip. Implanted at the base of the skull, it can't be removed and it can't be tampered without killing the one it's installed into. Your son wasn't able to handle the implant, and he died within five minutes. Aren't you curious as to what that small child's brain was to become?" Fireclaw continued.

"I don't think I really want to know, but tell me. That was my only son, and now he's dead for what purpose?" Redclaw shouted. He began to break down crying in front of Fireclaw.

"It was to render his brain completely void of all function other than what the implant told it to do. It would only sustain basic functions to keep the body alive, the rest was up to what Rex wanted him to do. Rex didn't install it correctly and it killed him quickly. He twitched and jumped a lot, then just laid still and stopped breathing, just like that. You pride yourself for being better, yet you don't even realize that Ghenghis Rex has already plotted your downfall, Tyranno-X."

"Tyranno-X?" Redclaw asked.

"That's your new name in his book. You're going to become Tyranno-X, a mindless tyrant under the whimsical control of his master. You'll piss on his command if he wants you to. You're ignorant enough to think he legitametely wants you as a Tyranno, which is cute, I'll admit, but you're still doomed to die either way. So, are you ready to hear my offer now?" Fireclaw said in a taunting tone.

"What choice do I have? I won't live to see tomorrow anyways." Redclaw replied sounding depressed.

"Well, like I said, I can change that. You'll have to be willing to work with me though. You didn't pull the trigger, or for that matter Pterano didn't either. Grandma Longneck lives, despite how sadistic it was of you to even command that she be executed. Especially in front of Littlefoot, her GRANDSON! I'm sure you're tired of hearing about that though, as most heartless bastards are. If it's revenge you want, it's revenge you'll definetely get. Ghenghis Rex is treading on dangerous territory, and with the bioweapon he's trying to create, especially since I'm sure now he knows about the stone of coldfire, he's aiming to create a super weapon. My offer is simple. You help me stop Rex, I don't butcher you and feed you to your own kind as a one course meal."

"And what if I refuse?"

"I'm surprised you're even asking that question. If you refuse..."

Fireclaw pulled his sword and put it to Redclaw's throat.

"Did you know after death, the brain still lives for seven minutes. That includes after its been removed from the spinal column. That's seven minutes of terror, agony, pretty much anything I want to do to your head in that window of time that you will endure. Is my point clear enough?" Fireclaw asked tauntingly.

"Yes..." Redclaw sheepishly replied.

Redclaw sat back on the bunk as Fireclaw walked out. He headed off down the hallway, leaving Redclaw in the small cell lit only by a small ceiling light. Redclaw knew that it was Fireclaw's sharptooth blood that was making him act with a little compassion, but it wasn't much. He knew he'd have to choose one way or the other, and hopefully didn't choose wrong. Fireclaw could murder him easily, knowing how powerful he truly is. Ghenghis Rex will inevetibally beat him or torture him for failing to kill Fireclaw, and now that he knows he's a test subject, he'll be lead down a road to cereberal slavery, and then he can just live out the death sentence of being completely eviscerated in the wrong fight that ultimately Rex will pick with him. Redclaw heard the hallway door open again, and moved towards the back wall out of fear that Fireclaw has come back to hurt him in some way. Fireclaw stopped in front of his cell.

"I don't think you need anymore time, do you?" He asked.

"How would redeeming myself to you help with relations with the Great Valley? They all want me dead either way, so it just doesn't make any sense at all!" Redclaw replied.

"You know, I've already worked things out with Grandpa Longneck, and trust me what I said I'm not proud of, but you've got one chance. If you chose what I think you chose, you better hope that you don't step out of line. One little agreement was that if you do, I shoot you where you stand. You're walking a fine line for someone who's killed more times in his life and is looked down upon now that you've been brought to their level. But like I said, I'm not forcing you to do anything you don't want." Fireclaw explained.

"Fireclaw, there's really only one thing I can do now. I've put my loyalty in the wrong place, and I ever since I've well, 'changed,' I've come to understand something. I acted only on instinct, and it's because of that that no one could ever really trust me. Plus, it's just wrong to trust a sharptooth at all really, but that's another topic. I'll take up your offer, and I hope at least then I can do something to make up for past sins. I won't let you down." Redclaw explained.

"Then I'm going to do something that most would find absolutely illogical."

Fireclaw unlocked the cell door, then backed away. Redclaw had a chance to run if he really wanted to. This was the first test of loyalty, if he ran, he would die. He could even attempt to kill Fireclaw, but again, it was a test. Redclaw opened the cell door slowly, then stood at attention in front of Fireclaw. Fireclaw looked him up and down, then looked him in the eye.

"You're doing good, Redclaw, but there's still something I need to try. It's easy to fake loyalty at this point because all you're doing is standing, but this is to see if you're telling me the truth or not."

Fireclaw took out his USP and handed it to Redclaw. Redclaw took it and held it at his side.

"Well, you're on your way to passing, seeing as you haven't attempted to shoot me yet. Follow me." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw lead Redclaw down the hallway and into the firing range. There was a live feed with Ghenghis Rex on one line, looking rather displeased, yet amused at the same time. He eyed Redclaw down as Redclaw walked in behind Fireclaw.

"Ok Redclaw. Here's where I call your bluff. You've got two options. Assume I'm Rex right now, who's loyalty is stronger? Would you kill the savior, or the tyrant?" Fireclaw asked sternly.

Redclaw looked at the video feed. Rex waited. He looked back to Fireclaw, who stood with his arms crossed also waiting. He had to make a move.

"And here's where I leave you, Redclaw. It's your choice. Hope it's the right one. And be honest. Just because Rex isn't here physically doesn't mean he can't see what you're doing." Fireclaw reassured him.

Redclaw chambered one round and aimed at Fireclaw. After some reconsideration, he turned the gun toward the screen. Back and forth he aimed, pondering, deciding. He hoped that he wouldn't make a wrong move. If he shot Fireclaw, Rex would be proud of him. But remembering what Fireclaw said, he means nothing to Rex at all. If he shot Rex, he would keep his life, but Rex would surely not forget. Rex would not forgive betrayal.

Redclaw aimed at Fireclaw and put his finger on the trigger. Fireclaw stood silent. Redclaw's hand trembled as he gripped the pistol. He closed his eyes, put his head into his shoulder, then spun himself to face the video monitor and pulled the trigger. The bang of the cartridge fired and the recoil sealed his fate. His choice was made.

"You chose well." Fireclaw said calmly.

"You little bastard. You defiant little bastard. You think you can run? You think you have friends there? Just look at you. You're a worthless-"

"SCREW YOURSELF REX!" Redclaw screamed as he emptied the rest of the magazine into the monitor's bulletproof cage.

Fireclaw took his gun back and led Redclaw out. Redclaw was furious. He knew he'd made the right choice by shooting Rex, only now he has to do it for real.

Back at the Great Valley, everyone was asleep but Chomper. He was paranoid that something was going on after what happened with Redclaw earlier that day. He checked the time on his watch. Midnight, still sitting up and worrying. He decided to try and radio to Fireclaw to see when he was coming back when something caught his eye. Chomper saw something move quickly in a field, and grabbed a pair of binoculars to get a closer look. Someone was standing there, watching the nesting grounds closely. Suddenly out of the trees came a whole group of Tyrannos on an ambush, and this time they weren't taking any chances. Chomper grabbed a shotgun and wing-kit and dove down. He managed to get into a small bush to see what was going on better. He noticed that the Tyranno's were carrying Littlefoot and his friends out on their backs. Why weren't they screaming, he wondered. Then he noticed something sticking out of their legs, darts. They were tranquilized! Chomper pulled a knife and crouched down behind some of the shrubbery. There was one soldier that lagged behind, just far enough for Chomper to grab and pull him into the bushes. After a quick scuffle, Chomper punched the soldier in the back of head, knocking him out cold. He dragged him away carefully as to not attract any attention. Chomper tied him to a tree closeby and radioed to Fireclaw.

"Fireclaw, come in, It's Chomper. Listen, something's happened. I need your help, now."


	8. Taken Prisoner

For once it isn't the enemy who's screwed beyond belief! Hopefully this trust bond between sharpteeth will last, because this situation is only getting worse! This took a bit longer than I'd hoped to get up, so enjoy it :P

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Chapter 8: Taken Prisoner

"Fireclaw, Chomper's been trying to get a hold of you for a while now. You may want to take this." Allo said over the shooting range intercom.

"Shit, what could it be now?" Fireclaw said in slight annoyance.

Fireclaw and Redclaw walked into the control room. Allo was slightly confused when he saw Redclaw, but didn't say anything.

"Chomper, Fireclaw here. What's wrong, talk to me." Fireclaw said.

"Fire, listen. Something happened last night. Littlefoot, Petrie, Ducky, Cera, Spike, they're all gone." Chomper replied.

"Wait what? You mean the snuck out?"

"No, they were taken. Like, drugged, taken out of their nests. I managed to get a hold of one and-"

"Chomper listen, I'm picking you up now. Load this miscreant onto the aircraft when I get there. We'll see what he knows." Fireclaw interrupted.

"Wait, you're bringing him to Lavadome? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Chomper asked concerned.

Fireclaw looked at Allo. Allo shot him a glance that told him he doesn't want to have to deal with what Fireclaw has in store for the prisoner.

"You know what, leave him. I'll come to you. Keep him alive will you, long enough for me to get through to him?" Fireclaw said.

"Will do. See you then."

"So, I see you've had an eventful time in my absence." Allo said scorningly.

"Look, I understand we have different viewpoints, but I'm Dinosquad Six, not a Dinosaucer. It was my choice to stay back here, and I will assert my authority where I see fit. I warned you about this before Allo. I'm not fighting you on this, nor do I have the desire to." Fireclaw shot back.

"I get it, Fireclaw. What I will not have is blood on my hands because of your endevours!"

"Oh really now? You realise that Ghenghis Rex has been planning shit behind your back during your little peace treaty? Yea, I found out about it Allo. Look Allo, you have to see what he's doing! He just took my friends, and who the hell knows what he could be doing to them! He's been playing with genetics, for hell's sake! He's trying to build a bioweapon! He probably knows about the stone of coldfire by now! Do you have any idea what he could do with that kind of power?" Fireclaw shouted.

"You know what, fine! Have it your way! You go kill your target now, since that's all you've ever known!" Allo shouted back.

Fireclaw looked hurt. He motioned for Redclaw to follow him and turned away.

"You know Allo, I didn't think you were actually capable of losing yourself like that. I see though. Honestly Allo, if killing is all that I've ever known..."

Fireclaw pulled his pistol and put it to Redclaw's head.

"I'd have wasted this shitbag a long time ago. You just remember something, just because I am military-born doesn't mean I am a killer at heart." Fireclaw finished.

He holstered his pistol and walked out with Redclaw behind him. Allo stared blankly at Fireclaw as he left. What had he just done? He may not have liked Fireclaw's background, but he was still his friend. He turned towards the blank livefeed monitor and stared into it.

"Fireclaw- before you leave, did you want to see what Teryx figured out with the Emeralds you found?" Allo said over the intercom with sadness in his voice.

At first there was no responce, but then his communicator came to life.

"Sure. I'd live that very much. I mean it's important for a killer to have his tools, right? I'll be there in a minute." Fireclaw said coldly.

When Fireclaw walked in, Allo handed fireclaw a pair of gauntlets with two halves of the emerald put into the underside of each wrist. Fireclaw fastened them to his arms, then tried what he and Chomper did earlier. He held one arm out straight and focused a powerful shockwave from his claw, sending whatever was not weighted down flying towards the back wall.

"I'm impressed. Hopefully they'll have more use than just slamming things against walls." Fireclaw said.

"We did the best we could with what we had. Teryx managed to figure something out with them, but I'm not sure what she did." Allo replied.

"I'll be glad to experiment with them." Fireclaw said over his shoulder as he walked out the door.

"Fireclaw wait!"

"Yes?"

"You might need this. I thought about what I said earlier, and I'm sorry. I'm just so tired of hearing about death and killing so much." Allo said Apologetically. He handed Fireclaw a small computer chip.

"What's this?" Fireclaw asked.

"It's hard to explain. It was compromised when a small band of mercenaries bound for Reptillon were intercepted as they entered Reptillon's orbital airspace. I took it after it was examined so that I could show you. Hopefully it'll server some purpose to you." Allo explained.

Fireclaw turned to Redclaw and handed him the small computer chip.

"Put this in the side of that small computer on your wrist. This will decrypt it, but you'll need a bigger system in order to view what's on the chip." Allo said.

Fireclaw tucked it away in his vest pocket.

"What do you mean you're tired of hearing about death and destruction?" Fireclaw asked.

"You probably didn't know, but a war is being started on Reptillon. That's why I came back. I wasn't planning to return at all, and was going to leave Lavadome to you. The other Dinosaucers would have gotten the word eventually, but when I found out about the war, I fled. If need be, I'll return to fight, but only if absolutely necessary." Allo said.

Fireclaw felt his heart sink. If there was a war starting on Reptillon, he knew exactly who would have started it. Ghenghis Rex.

"Fireclaw! Where are you? We've got a huge problem here! Shit!" Chomper relayed over the communicator to Fireclaw.

"Chomper? Chomper! Come in! Damnit, the line's dead!"

"Tyrannos." Allo said.

"Allo, I'm not asking for help, because I know your stance, but listen. This is getting out of control. I'm hoping that the time won't come that you yourself have to fight, but if it does, I'll understand." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw and Redclaw frantically went a found the armory. Once inside, they chose what loadout they supposed would be best.

"Redclaw, check the geo-locator on your arm. Was that com signal moving at all?"

"Uhh, Northwest, barely."

"Alright, they're definetely headed for Tarpit. I think I know what Rex may just end up doing too." Fireclaw said deadfully.

Fireclaw grabbed a plasma rifle and his .44. He loaded his .44 with a special type of round that bursts on impact, maximizing damage.

"Redclaw, you'll want something close range for this. I've got something here you can try out."

Fireclaw tossed Redclaw a large 8-guage shotgun. There has never been a time where this gun had to be used, and Fireclaw called the "Rex Killer" because of it's very violent nature when used up-close.

After loading up with as much ammo as they could get along with a few grenades, they headed out to get even. Fireclaw decided to auto-pilot a smaller cruiser like ship so he didn't wreck a second one. Allo wasn't all too happy hearing about the first one he crashed, so he figured it was for the best. Once on board, Fireclaw targeted Tarpit as the destination, then launched them both out of Lavadome.

"Well, hope you got everything, there's no going back now." Fireclaw said over his shoulder. Redclaw was loading a shotgun clip.

"Just make sure you get us there without any issue. This thing doesn't look like it has any weaponry on board." Redclaw replied.

Fireclaw engaged the auto-pilot and went back to load his weapons as well. Fireclaw's plasma rifle already had a plasma battery in it, a big no-no in the armory. Any loaded weapon could be considered a misfire hazard and needed to remain unloaded at all times. Fireclaw did a quick field sighting of his plasma rifle using a small laser pointer to ensure he wouldn't miss a shot. He loaded his .44, but kept a spare cylinder of normal hollow point rounds just in case.

"Approaching destination, attention, please attend to the controls immediately." The computer voice programmed into the ship alerted.

"Alright, we're not going to need any parachute for this. I'm sure when Rex did all the biologic work he installed some terminology into your head as well, so you should know what I'm talking about when I start talking equipment. Attach a wing-kit from that back wall to your armor and be ready to make a dive." Fireclaw instructed.

Fireclaw put the ship into a hover directly above the only exposed enterance Tarpit has. They would make an entry through the loading docks that cargo ships dock at. Those doors were super easy to break through, as Fireclaw had detonated his way through them before. Fireclaw attached a wing-kit to his armor, then opened the rear drop doors. He then set the target for Lavadome to bring the ship back.

"Alright Redclaw, one I hit this button, the ship's turning around! Jump on my go! One, two, three, go!"

Redclaw dove out of the drop bay, Fireclaw soon following as the ship's doors closed and it set off on it's course. Redclaw was already on the ground before Fireclaw had a chance to assume the landing position. Redclaw grabbed for his daggers and ran the blades through a container he had attached to one of the sheaths.

"What's that for? Making your blades more painful?" Fireclaw asked.

"Ghenghis Rex had assumed that I'd be able to make an assasination attempt, so he had Plesio formulate a very potent neurotoxin. Even so much as a prick will fry your nervous system." Redclaw replied.

"Alright, hope you're quick with those, I'm about to open the door." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw took a grenade off of his tactical vest and pushed a red button, revealing spikes that can stick the grenade to walls. He pulled the pin, then rammed it into the door. The grenade ripped a large hole in the weak aluminum door, surprising two guards who were on the other end of the room posted at the doors to the warehouse. They had no time to react as Redclaw expertly threw both daggers at once, stabbing them both. Fireclaw aimed his plasma rifle around the room as they both advanced quickly through, wasting no time. Redclaw ripped his daggers out of the guards' bodies and put his back against the wall to the right of the warehouse door. Fireclaw backed against the other side and nodded three times as a ready signal. On the third nod, he kicked the door in, walked in and started shooting. Lasers were flying from the fossilizers the guards had, but were no match for the plasma that Fireclaw had. Redclaw blew a massive hole in one guard coming up to hit Fireclaw with the shotgun. Redclaw stumbled from the kick of the shotgun against his shoulder. Once all guards were dead, Fireclaw and Redclaw kicked in another door. This one was a small office, probably for analyzing things considering all of the scientific equipment lining the walls and countertops.

"They sure don't have a lot of protection stationed right now." Fireclaw said.

"Rex must be expecting us, he wouldn't send someone out for Chomer and not expect us coming." Redclaw replied.

"Damn, we've got company. Look alive!"

Fireclaw rolled into the hallway and shot a guard in the chest with his .44 magnum. He turned and blew one's head clean off as the guard went to take aim at him. Redclaw stepped out and advanced down the hallway, Fireclaw watching his back.

Meanwhile, Ghenghis Rex was watching the whole thing from his control room. A visibly pleased Quackpot dragged an unconsious Chomper in by his shoulders, grunting every few steps.

"This ough'ta show him, right Rex? He'll get his beloved friend back if he can get through you!" Quackpot said between his annoying cackling.

"If Fireclaw and that traitor of mine can get past the juggernaut guards, then yes, he can have him, that is if he can make it in time." Ghenghis Rex replied, smiling through a dark expression.

Ankylo came through the same door in a near sprint.

"We have the other small ones you requested, bossasaur!" Ankylo said.

"Very good. I want you to welcome them to their new humble homes. Make sure you show them how nice we really are." Ghenghis Rex said coldly.

Ankylo ran back out, Quackpot following behind. Ghenghis Rex turned back to his control panel to see Fireclaw staring straight at the camera. Fireclaw flipped him off, then shot the camera with his magnum. Rex continued to smile deviously.

Fireclaw kicked another door in, this time to be greeted by Brachio nearly punching his face in. Fireclaw grabbed his arm and flipped him over. He put his .44 in Brachio's face and kicked him hard in the side.

"Did you really think I was that easy? An adrenaline filled me is not a fun me!" Fireclaw said before pulling him up and using him as a meat shield. Fireclaw guided Brachio down the hallway by a revolver barrel, deterring any further attacks. Redclaw saw what Fireclaw was doing and stayed closer to make sure noone got around Fireclaw and Brachio.

"Where's the control room?" Fireclaw demanded.

"Why should I tell you?" Brachio replied in a cocky tone. Fireclaw whipped in in the side of the head with his magnum.

"If you don't tell me I'll waste your ass right here and leave you like the other sad assholes who thought they were better than me, so open that little pleaser of yours and tell me where the control room is before I make you a stain!" Fireclaw yelled.

"Alright, alright, it's down the hall, just look for the door that say's control room on it!" Brachio replied.

"Good boy. Don't think you're getting off this easily, though. What if you're lying?" Fireclaw teased.

Fireclaw continued down the hall with Brachio on the business end of his gun. Brachio lead them down a dead-end corridor that had two doors on each side. Redclaw stayed in the intersection of the two hallways to watch for any guards, but stayed out of sight in case Brachio tried to run. Two guards rounded each corner, only to be quickly stopped by Redclaw's Bird hunter.

The first door read "Cold storage". Fireclaw began to think that Brachio was setting him up and let him walk a little ahead. Sights aimed at Brachio's back so he didn't kill him, Fireclaw lead him to the second door.

"Read it!" Fireclaw demanded.

Brachio hesitated. Fireclaw only grew more suspicious.

"Well, what's holding you up? Read the damn door!" Fireclaw demanded again. He noticed a change in expression in Brachio's face.

Suddenly Brachio tail-whipped Fireclaw, ramming him hard into a wall. Bracho tried to get his gun, but was thrown against the ceiling by a kinetic blast from Fireclaw's emerald gauntlets. As Brachio tried to get back up, Fireclaw grabbed his head and smashed his face against the floor repeatedly.

"You stupid little bastard! Typical Tyranno you are, and now that you're no use to me, you'll be as good as a shield in case any of your other lovers want to join in on the fun!" Fireclaw growled as he bashed Brachio's head off of the hard metal floor.

Fireclaw gave Brachio's head one last bash, then forced him up to a standing position. Brachio was very dazed and dizzy from the massive concussion he'd just recieved, so making him walk was no trouble at all. Redclaw was greeted by a very bloody Brachio, and Fireclaw making use of the free cover he had.

"Let's go, get behind me if you need cover."

Ghenghis Rex pulled a small black case out of a hidden cabinet inside a computer console. He took out an electropulse rifle, which isn't lethal but enough to take someone down with one hit and cause violent spasms. Ghenghis Rex loaded a full clip of six pulse cores, small energy cells containing a fifty thousand volt charge. The rifle will amplify this charge as it leaves the barrel. Rex sat waiting at the only door into the control room and took aim. He knew where Fireclaw was by listening to the audio feed of the cameras. One monitor was connected to each camera in the facility. Five were in the hallways, and one for each of the three labs, and one for the prison, four for the main hangar, and four in the warehouse where Fireclaw and Redclaw came in. All Rex had to do was listen to which monitor was recieving audio, which wasn't difficult at all for him. Rex could hear gunshots and screams of his guards being killed by a hail of bullets, plasma and shotgun pellets.

Fireclaw finally reached the correct door after Brachio lead them down every pointless hallway he could before being knocked unconsious by Fireclaw's pistol and left in another part Tarpit. He nodded to Redclaw, then stood in front of the control room door.

"Think it's a good idea to storm this? Rex is going to know what's up for sure since he's got cameras." Redclaw said.

"Well, we don't have much of a choice, kicking the door, blowing it open, we gotta go in regardless. We'll go on three." Fireclaw replied.

Ghenghis Rex heard the countdown from the other side of the door and tightened his grip on the rifle's handle, eagerly awaiting Fireclaw to kick the door.

On three, Fireclaw kicked in the door. The sliding door came easily off the tracks and landed on the floor. Fireclaw had no time to react as Rex pulled the trigger, sending a high-voltage pulse wave in Fireclaw's direction, electrocuting him horribly. The electrical current was so strong it jumped to Redclaw, incapacitating him as well. Fireclaw convulsed on the floor before beginning to fade in and out of consiousness. He could feel Ghenghis Rex grab the back of his armor and drag him into the control room, yet he wasn't able to wake himself enough to see Chomper laying next to him, also unconsious. Redclaw was laid on the other side of Fireclaw by Ankylo, who happened to be around the corner as they were zapped.

"What do we do with them now, bossasaur?" Ankylo asked.

"Put them in with the others. This will serve as a grand reunion before we ship them off to somewhere where they could be put to good use and out of our hands for good!" Rex ordered.

Fireclaw didn't come to for another couple hours. His nerves were on fire, and he was growing more and more angry by how he was taken down without a fight. He couldn't do anything powerful because he left his sword at Lavadome, which was a smart move on his part considering the situation he's in now.

"Fireclaw? Where are we?" Cera asked.

"Cera? What are you doing here? Littlefoot, Petrie, Ducky, Spike, Chomper, Redclaw? What the hell? What's going on?" Fireclaw asked.

"I was asking you the same thing. We were at our nests waiting for the grown-ups and then we wake up here. Those other sharpteeth dragged you, Chomper and... Who's that?"

Cera looked at Redclaw. He was still unconsious.

"I thought you already saw him, that's Redclaw." Fireclaw said.

"Yea, but I didn't realize he suddenly turned good. Yea, actually I DO find that hard to believe. Why does he just stop trying to kill everyone all of a sudden?"

"Long story, and if he didn't I was going to kill him the next day. Listen, don't freak out or anything, but I need to tell you something. I don't think the grown-ups are going to be the ones who get us out of this out this time. Remember that earthshake that split you off from your father? Well, it's like that, only this time it's a longer distance and it's about to get a hell of a lot more hostile. I just read the orders on the desk that stupid longneck forgot to put away, and we're getting shipped off somewhere, that part I didn't catch. Point is, this is our fight now. If we're going to do this, we're going to have to work together to get through this one!" Fireclaw said in a firm tone.

"Wait, so you mean that we're going to have to fend for ourselves now? Fireclaw it's not that easy for us, we're just kids!" Cera pleaded.

"I understand Cera, and I was hoping this wouldn't come this far. Listen, I won't let anything happen to you, trust me. I'll kill any sonofabitch that tries to do anything to you or the others. I'm not sure it'll be easy though for me either, where we're probably going, they've never seen a real dinosaur. In their world, you don't really exist anymore supposedly." Fireclaw said.

"What kind of friends do you have? They sound like monsters!"

"Yea, their species can be. Well, they don't know you- I'm sorry we exist. They think that we're all dead. They don't even know about the Dinosaucers at all, but I guess all things have to end sometime, don't they?" Fireclaw said.

"Fireclaw what the hell is going on?" Chomper said frantically. He jarred himself awake somehow and was running on pure adrenaline.

"Well, nice of you to not sleep in for once." Fireclaw replied sarcastically.

"Fire this isn't funny! What do you mean that we're being shipped off? Seriosly tell me something here, anything!"

Chomper was beginning to panic. Fireclaw attempted to calm him down, but Chomper was to have none of it.

"Hey, quiet down in there! Don't make me have to get Rex in here!" Brachio yelled.

"Bite me asshole!" Chomper replied angrily. Everyone except Fireclaw stared at him in disbelief that he just said that. Fireclaw laughed.

"Well, I guess you've just sold your innocent vocabulary out haha!" Fireclaw chuckled.

"What? It's a crime to talk how I want to? Do you not realize how screwed we are? Fireclaw WERE ABOUT TO BE SOLD TO HUMANITY YOU SARCASTIC BASTARD!" Chomper yelled.

"Well, no, but I think everyone's pretty much awake now that you've just screamed out whatever was left of that innocent leafeater left in you. And chill about the humanity thing, they're pretty much harmless until the United States Military gets called in."

"Yea, well screw you too then. You mean we're going to be sent where the Secret Scouts live? Do you know what's going to happen?" Chomper said loudly.

"It won't be great, but we'll manage." Fireclaw said casually.

"We're being sent away? I do not like that idea at all." Ducky said.

"It's alright Ducky, Fireclaw, Chomper and- well whoever that is will protect us." Littlefoot reassured her.

Redclaw finally sat up. He had a lump on the back of his head from where he fell and hit it. Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie and Spike recoiled in horror.

"Great, out of one hole and into another. Nice work Fireclaw, you sure showed him." Redclaw said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"How was I supposed to know he had a lightning gun?" Fireclaw replied.

"Redclaw- you look, different!" Littlefoot said.

"Thanks, appreciate that." Redclaw replied.

"What happen to Redclaw? He used to be mean, why he smaller?" Petrie asked.

"Petrie there's honestly no way I could explain it in any way or form that you'd be able to understand." Redclaw replied.

A door opened down the hallway, followed by multiple sets of footsteps. Everyone began to tense up, expecting Brachio to come back, or worse. Suddenly the footsteps stopped. Someone was loading a weapon of some sort. A loud pop filled the room and a small canister flew down the hallway and into the main prison. A gray smoke began to fill the room.

"Damnit! They're gassing us! Everyone, shield your faces, this burns!" Fireclaw yelled.

To Fireclaw's surprise, it didn't burn at all. He began to feel dizzy. The room began to whirl, his eyesight fading. He felt as though he was falling backwards, even after bracing himself against a wall to prevent that. His hearing faded out as well, then nothing. All he could hear was his heartbeat as he felt his way around the prison cell he shared with everyone else. When he could take no more, his knees gave out, and he fell to the ground. Fireclaw got one last look at Chomper, who was already long gone, then everything went dark. He was at the mercy of the Tyrannos, powerless and defenseless.


	9. Fireclaw's Reality

Now that the story's dark enough, I decided to rewrite this chapter to begin ending the story on a high note. There are some other chapters that will be re-written beforehand as well, so be watching.

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Chapter 9: Fireclaw's Reality

Visions flashed before Fireclaw's eyes. He couldn't tell if he was awake or unconsious anymore. It all seemed so real, yet so imaginary all at once. The visions of his military training back on Reptillon to get into the higher factions of the military, from Dinosaucer to Dinosquad 6. The pain, blood, sweat, and tears all seemed so real to him again. He could feel his muscles burning as he pushed himself physically to become as strong as he could. He could hear the drill sergeant screaming insults and orders, swearing at anyone who failed to do a task.

Like a film switching reels, he was now in the main chamber of the Dinosorcer and Dinosorceress. He was kneeling before them, being sworn into the highest rank of military status possible, the most elite soldiers of all. Dinosquad 6 was no easy status to achieve. Not everyone made it, and those who did were the most powerful and deadliest soldiers to live. Fireclaw ranked among them, being able to kill with only two claws quickly and effeciently. He recieved his uniform and insignia from Allo, the Dinosorcer's nephew. In a way, Allo admired how hard Fireclaw worked to obtain his status, but at the same time wasn't exactly sure he was doing it for the right reasons. Allo never wanted war, death, destruction, and the suffering caused by war. As much as it pained him, he chose to turn a blind eye towards it all for sake is his Aunt and Uncle.

A white flash switched to his next memory. The atmosphere was tense around the palace. Fireclaw was called in on a special assignment. He had been personally selected to accompany the Dinosaucers to Earth on their expedition for Reptilonian expansion. Fireclaw took the opportunity immediately. He looked to Allo, who was standing on the platform to the right of the Dinosorceror. He didn't like the idea that he'd be leaving Reptillon, but he had no choice at this point. Allo didn't like the idea of having a somewhat secret agent guarding the whole operation, but after many arguments over it, Allo figured he'd make things clear beforehand and allow Fireclaw to go. Besides, Fireclaw already offered himself, and he's willing to do the best he can at protecting the Dinosaucers at whatever cost, even if it's his own life.

His mind flashed to his next important memory, leaving Reptillon. Two weeks later, Fireclaw was to set off on the journey that would ultimately shape him to be who he is now. No premonition could prepare him for the fact that he would eventually become a powerful supernatural being. This job didn't seem huge at all. Retrieving his armor and gear from the royal armory, he followed Allo to the Dinocraft that was scheduled to leave for Earth. As they waved their final goodbyes, Fireclaw paid no attention to the crowd around him. He looked at Allo's heels as he walked, thinking of everything he's leaving behind.

Fireclaw's life beforehand was ironically a fairly easy one. Fireclaw wasn't ever hateful at all, though his actions in the recent past could damage that image. Fireclaw came from a wealthy family who cared very much for him, but due to the long running military history in his family, he felt that breaking that cycle would only bring shame to his bloodline and heritage. No one in his family had ever actually made it as far as Dinosquad 6 though, and by bearing that title he brought more honor to his family than anyone before him.

Fireclaw had some alliances just before he'd left. Coming home from a bar one night after meeting a mutual friend to discuss how things would be different, and swap stories, he'd met a peculiar dinosaur walking down the street from a well known restaurant. He was of a common duck-bill lineage, about Fireclaw's height and seemed all around humble. Walking with some of his friends, they continued on their way, swapping quick glances and thinking nothing of it.

"Excuse me!" He called to Fireclaw.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Fireclaw said back.

"You're the new initiate, right? To Dinosquad six?" The duck-billed dinosaur said.

"Yea, I was just sworn in a couple days ago."

"Really now?" The duck-bill asked with great interest.

He offered his hand to Fireclaw, and Fireclaw shook it firmly.

"I'm Quackpot," he said.

"This is Mia," he said whilst gesturing to the woman on his left.

"And this is Aron," he said gesturing to the man on his right. They were also Duck-bills.

"Ahh, pleasure to meet you." Fireclaw said.

"Well, best of luck on the Earth mission!" Quackpot called as they parted ways.

Fast forward to Earth. Fireclaw came down from the balcony in the hanger of the mothership. Allo put the ship down in a field just outside of a small town.

"What are we doing here? I thought we were supposed to be heading to the coordinates we got earlier." Fireclaw asked.

"If we're going to be staying here, we might as well try and make some friends, shouldn't we?" Allo replied.

"Are you sure that's even a good idea? You've never even been here, or even seen this planet for that matter, and already you want to socialize?" Fireclaw asked wearily.

The conversation was cut short by the hangar door being opened. Fireclaw hated it when the doors were being opened because of how loud they were. Once the doors were raised and the loading platform was lowered to the ground, everyone stepped off. Everyone but Fireclaw. He decided to stay back, just in case something went wrong. Fireclaw noticed that Allo had small rings in his pocket as he walked off. As they introduced themselves, Allo handed them the rings Fireclaw noticed. After a minute of pondering, Fireclaw decided to make himself known. He walked down the ramp and introduced himself as well.

"Wow, if only Reptillon were this green." Fireclaw said interestedly.

"I thought Dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago! This is the best thing that's ever happened!" One of the teens said.

"You'd be surprised what the youth of Reptillon's going through right now. They'd have a stroke if they saw a real human. Weird how that works."

"My name's David." He replied. He was about 5"11 compared to Fireclaw's 8"10 height.

"I'm Sarah, and this is my brother Ryan." Sarah said.

"And I'm Paul! Sorry we didn't introduce ourselves to you earlier." Paul said.

"Its cool. I'm Fireclaw, and I'm sure Allo's already introduced himself to-"

"Fireclaw, could you come here for a sec?" Teryx called from the top of the ramp.

After a little more idle conversation, the Dinosaucers reboarded the ship to finally seek out their original destination.

Fireclaw's conscious vision faded once more, then refocused itself on a memory Fireclaw thought he'd forgotten by now.

Fireclaw's flight skills with a newer aircraft weren't as honed as what he was used to with standard battle cruisers and starfighters. The Epsilon's engines were very different than the standard setups most ships came equipped with on Reptillon, which usually consisted of a primary thrust-propulsion engine, and four smaller afterburners. Epsilon had four separate thrust-propulsion engines that all pivoted on their own axes, with six afterburners to either expand or contract. Fireclaw thought he had it figured out until a buzzer went off on one of the rear thrusters. Fireclaw's troubleshooting led him into more problems, as all the engines began to fail and he couldn't figure out why. The Epsilon lost altitude quickly, and soon he'd fallen faster and faster back to earth. Buzzers and alarms rang in Fireclaw's head as he braced for the inevitable impact.

It must have been hours since he'd last made impact. The communications board was too damaged to be useful, and his locator couldn't pick up any signal at all. The geo-location system he had could only gauge him to be somewhere around the bottom tip of South America, on a remote island closer to Antarctica. Oddly enough, the climate was rather warm.

Fireclaw kicked the side door open and inspected the damage. The front of the ship was pushed back into the cockpit, one wing was still attached while the other lay about forty yards from the ship itself. Two engines were smoldering, one was right next to the door he kicked open, and the other was totally dead.

"Shit, Allo's going to be so pissed." Fireclaw said under his breath.

He climbed back in and found a small survival kit under the pilot's chair. Inside it contained a flashlight, a survival knife, some flares, a lighter, first aid supplies and the gun given to him by one of the secret scouts, a 9mm Beretta with two magazines taped to it. Fireclaw still has no idea how David got the gun, or for that matter why he had it.

Trying to establish communications with the portable com-link wasn't very easy. He landed in the middle of what looked like a wasteland. Volcanic vents spewed thick black smoke into the air, the water looked like acid and boiled hot. A geyser or two would make him jump from time to time. There was something that caught his attention of all things, though. It was the sound of a fight. A sound Fireclaw knew all too well. Following the drifting noise, he trudged through tough terrain, over lava pits, through quicksand and hot water, and a geyser that nearly steamed him like a vegetable.

Atop a large hill was an Apatosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus squaring off against each other. Fireclaw made out a smaller figure below the Apatosaur, probably her child. Fireclaw knew it was now or never. He charged up the hill and pulled the pistol. He wasn't sure what a small caliber bullet would do to a huge beast like the T-rex, but he charged on anyway. The hill tired Fireclaw out quickly, and as much as he didn't want to slow down his body wasn't wanting to work with him. By the time he'd reached the top, it was too late. The most he could do just before the Apatosaurus went down was to dive and tackle the smaller one out of the way. After a hard landing by a rock, Fireclaw took cover for a brief moment while the baby went over to it's dying mother. She didn't have long left, and she knew it. Fireclaw didn't want to face this reality. Being a dinosaur himself, it was a pain he felt close to home as well. Fireclaw decided to follow without directly intervening. He wouldn't allow this one to die the way his mother just did.

This time, Fireclaw was remembering watching over the children as they made their way to the "Great Valley," a place that the baby Apatosaur described as being so wonderful, he couldn't pass the chance up to see it himself. The two had gotten along nicely after a day or so of stalking, and Fireclaw learned that the Apatosaur's name was Littlefoot. They talked about hardships that life has, Fireclaw offered advice along the way, and provided a way for Littlefoot to vent about the loss of his mother. It was a hard time for him, and Fireclaw understood that. Unfortunately, the Com-link still produced no results of an adequate signal to try to radio back to Lavadome of his situation. Along the way, they met Petrie, a small Pterosaur who's mother was separated during a massive earthquake Fireclaw missed by minutes, Ducky and Spike, also split from her mother during the earthquake, and Cera, who's situation wasn't any different minus the fact that it was her father she temporarily lost. Fireclaw couldn't help but notice the fact that Ducky and Spike were brother and sister, yet they weren't even the same species. He wouldn't judge, but still found it odd.

Hours went by where nothing changed. A few canyons here, a few passes there, it was as if the world itself had died and it's corpse was left to forever decay as a reminder of what it once was. They'd come to a small clearing with a single dying tree. There were still some treestars left on the tree, which impressed Fireclaw seeing that the rest of the place had been dead and barren. Littlefoot tried to knock the treestars down unsuccessfully, and after about the fourth attempt, the tree gave up the food they'd been longing for. While the kids ate, Fireclaw paid close attention to things around him. Clutching the pistol, he watched the treeline around them. If there was one thing he'd learned from training, it's that things don't ever come easy. Ever. It wouldn't be long before Fireclaw's suspicions were confirmed.

Three small Raptors began to show up from the bushes not too far from him. Chaos ensued. The kids hid behind the tree while Fireclaw raised his pistol to a firing stance. Clearly a warning call isn't going to be enough. He fired a warning shot into the air and shouted for them to get back. His warnings went unheeded, as expected.

"Littlefoot, Petrie, Ducky, Cera, Spike, don't move! I'll come get you!" Fireclaw shouted.

He emptied six of the eight rounds the magazine had. The first two struck the first Raptor in the chest, dropping him cold. The next two were more lethal. One round grazed the eye socket of the second raptor and the other struck him in the throat. He writhed on the ground before finally gurgling out one last breath. The final raptor was hit once in the face, and once in the chest. It fell before it knew what happened.

"Oh shit, shit I knew this would happen! Guys, let's go. It's not safe here anymore!"

Another flash brought him to the Great Valley after the journey had been made. Everyone was reunited and happy, all but Fireclaw. As far as he could tell, the Com-link probably wouldn't work unless he had more power, but where exactly would he get a power source strong enough to keep it alive long enough to radio a distress call? That's if he even could get signal. Still, he had to try. Fireclaw snuck away from the crowd and set up the small Com-link on a hill. Fiddling with frequencies, he tried desperately to fire off that one signal that would get picked up, even if it was faint, they'd know something was up. Again and again he tried to get it to work, and finally, after one last attempt, the small signal meter that showed it's strength began to react.

"Yes! Got it!" Fireclaw exclaimed.

His memory jumped him to when he'd first seen Chomper. Fireclaw managed to learn how to pilot the Epsilon after it had been repaired. Allo wasn't very happy when they had to retrieve it, but Fireclaw managed to convince him to teach him to pilot the craft so that he didn't take it into the ground like he did the first time. Now that he'd had a way to go back and forth between the Great Valley, Fireclaw made frequent visits between Lavadome and the Valley. Fireclaw had established himself enough that everyone trusted him, and he did nothing to betray that trust. Keeping sharpeeth away and helping the general well being of the Valley made him appear better than what they'd first thought of him.

Fireclaw one morning was talking with Grandma and Grandpa Longneck by the watering hole about the Great Valley when Littlefoot came running from the bushes.

"Grandma, Grandpa!" Littlefoot called out.

"Yes, what is it Littlefoot?" Grandpa Longneck asked.

"I- I want to know about babies..."

Fireclaw's smile quickly turned sour upon hearing this. Grandma and Grandpa Longneck both looked at each other equally in horror.

"Littlefoot what the hell? What- What the hell did you just say?" Fireclaw asked in a demanding tone.

"Why do you want to know about babies, Littlefoot?" Grandma Longneck asked.

"Well, I want to know what they eat." Littlefoot said.

"That's still better than what I thought you were about to say, Littlefoot." Fireclaw replied somewhat relieved.

"Well, they eat green food. That's we fed you when you were little." Grandpa Longneck told Littlefoot in his usually calm tone.

"Thanks Grandpa!" Littlefoot said before anyone else had a chance to add anything.

"Kids, they grow up so fast." Grandma Longneck said with a chuckle.

"I really hope he didn't... Ugh, after that I think I need a drink or eight." Fireclaw said sarcastically.

Another jump brought him to the memory where Chomper bit Cera's tail after they were for some reason singing near a volcano. Fireclaw wouldn't really question their logic and left the situation alone. He took notice to the two so called egg thieves who had stalked them there before and followed them after they took a leap of faith over the side. Fireclaw was armed with a combat shotgun that he'd brought from Lavadome a week prior. He preferred shotguns at times when he needed crowd control. Bird shot was usually a preference if he was keeping things quiet without any fatality, but slugs could be swapped if someone just wouldn't cooperate. There wasn't much else he could remember of this point.

Fireclaw's next memory was when he'd come across the sharptooth attack in the valley, and they were nearly outnumbering Grandpa Longneck. Fireclaw wouldn't learn about who Grandpa Longneck really is or what he's truly capable of until much later on in his life. Fireclaw kept quiet and stuck to the trees. He didn't want to draw attention to himself yet. It was then that he'd noticed Ozzy and Strut trying to run away. He'd kept hot on their trail and followed them up to the top of a cliff. They'd hidden in a bush, and Fireclaw took cover behind a tree. He wouldn't blow his cover just yet. He needed to get the Sharpteeth out, and if by chance something happened that they'd seen him, they'd try to run right back into the Great Valley, further complicating things.

Fireclaw's memory shifted to about fifteen minutes later, when Ozzy and Strut held Littlefoot over the edge of the Great Wall. As Ozzy held Littlefoot over the edge, Fireclaw moved out and grabbed Strut and put him in a head lock while aiming the shotgun over his shoulder at Ozzy.

"You best not let go, Ozzy." Fireclaw said coldly between clenched teeth.

"Strut! Let him go you ignorant-"

Fireclaw cocked the shotgun with one hand and put it under Strut's chin.

"I don't give a shit what happens to either of you. If you hurt him, I'll blow this bastard's head straight across the Valley. Do you really want me to do that? Do you?" Fireclaw taunted.

Ozzy put Littlefoot back on the cliff. Fireclaw released Strut and kicked him in the back. The Sharpteeth caught wind of the egg thieves and chased them out, Chomper following closely behind them.

Fireclaw's memory began to get fuzzy, probably a sign that he was regaining consiousness. His final memory was Chomper's training as a Dinosaucer, and his initiation. Once Chomper had grown old enough, Fireclaw took him in and trained him vigorously. Day and night Fireclaw ran through drills with him, trained him how to fight, and once the time was right, how to correctly use a firearm. In order to correct his arm length, he offered Chomper the option of correcting his form through an experiment Teryx managed to devise over the course of about three years. Fireclaw warned him that it could kill him if it failed, but Chomper was eager to go through with the experiment anyway. Fireclaw took him back to Lavadome and began the procedure upon arrival. The operation itself was a long and painful one. Chomper had to remain awake while he was transformed to monitor his brainwave functions as he underwent the entire rewriting of his genetic code. This medical experiment was highly dangerous, as genetic experimentation was a very rare thing to attempt anywhere on Reptillon due to the risk factors involved. Teryx had believed she had perfected it, and she was right! Many hours after being stabbed with long needles, electrocuted many times and even being stretched out some, Chomper's transformation was complete. As he'd walked out of the final stasis chamber to complete the operation Fireclaw couldn't believe what he'd become. He walked exactly as a Dinosaucer would, and his arms were now the length of Allo's as well. Fireclaw began to train him in weapon combat and firearms as soon as he possibly could.

Fireclaw's memory blurred and faded as he began to regain consciousness The real world was beginning to set in again as he felt the cold metal floor beneath him. He felt as though he was moving and felt very dizzy as his vision focused itself. Fireclaw could see bars in front of him and heard the sound of crowds cheering.

"What the hell? What's that noise?" Fireclaw asked groggily. He sat up and looked around at the other cages containing Littlefoot, Petrie, Ducky, Cera, Spike, Chomper. Fireclaw didn't see Redclaw and hoped Rex hadn't killed him. A very loud roar broke his train of thought telling Fireclaw Redclaw was alive, but probably not in a good position. He knew this was Genghis Rex at work here, but how did he get into human possession without Rex selling himself out as well? The workers who were moving the cages stopped in a small room that looked like the off-stage area of a theater.

"Alright, this is it! You're going to be so famous! Just think, real live dinosaurs! All those people waiting to see you out there!" A shorter girl told him, unaware he could understand her. She had to have been high school aged, Fireclaw figured. She didn't look any older than the secret scouts did. Much to his horror he'd noticed that he had no armor, actually nothing on at all. This wasn't helping make him any happier at all.

"What the..." Fireclaw said under his breath.

Looking to his right he saw a possible way out. The door hinges were very poorly made, and the simple pins could be removed easily. Once he's escaped the cage, his next task was saving everyone else and finding Genghis Rex.


	10. Manic Rampage

Fireclaw's memories could either break him, or change him. Will they? You decide.

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Chapter 10: Manic Rampage

Things were relatively quiet around Sara and David's house. Their parents had left for a trip and left them to tend to the house. Sara was watching the news while Ryan was washing dishes when the phone rang.

"Ok Paul, I'll tell her. Thanks again." Ryan said over the phone.

"Sara, turn on the news." Ryan called to Sara who was in the living room.

"What's going on, Ryan?" Sara asked.

"You might just want to watch."

Sara flicked on the TV and changed it to the Six O'clock news. There was a breaking news headline flashing across the screen. Sara and Ryan drew closer to the screen. The news ticker read "Dinosaurs captured! See them live!"

"What? What the..."

A knock at the door interrupted Ryan. Ryan opened the door to see David clearly out of breath and sweating standing on the front porch gesturing something while catching his breath. From the porch Ryan could see the main street that cut through town. He looked over his shoulder to see something sprinting behind him. It was Fireclaw!

"David? Fireclaw? What's going on?" Ryan asked frantically.

They all went into the house and Fireclaw slammed the door behind them and locked it.

"I stole my armor back, but that's about all I was able to get." Fireclaw said between breaths.

"Fireclaw, David, what's wrong? Who did they capture?" Sara asked.

"All of us. Redclaw, Chomper, Myself, Littlefoot, Ducky, Cera, Spike, Petrie, hell they got us all. That stupid son of a bitch Tyranno leader was the one behind it too!" Fireclaw said furiously. He felt a strangely familiar pulsing in his head.

"Who are the rest? We've never heard of any other Dinosaucers by those names." David said.

"They're not Dinosaucers, hell I'm not either. I'm a member of Dinosquad 6. Listen, that doesn't matter. They're coming here! Rex wants to show them off to the public as a terror act. They have no idea I'm gone yet!"

"Wait, how do they have no idea you're gone?" Ryan asked curiously.

"They didn't hinge the cages very well. All I did was pop a pin out and kick the door open. I know where the rest of my equipment is. It's in a truck at the rear of the convoy that's headed this way." Fireclaw said.

"Where is this convoy now?" Sara asked.

"About 5 miles out of town." Fireclaw said.

"You ran five miles?" David asked skeptically.

"I grabbed a semi. You think I'm that good at running?" Fireclaw said.

"Sounds like you got lucky. Any way we can get your gear back from that truck before it gets here?" Sara asked.

"Unlikely. The convoy was guarded last time I saw it. They're going to have protection from some security force along the way. I'll have to pick up a rifle or something if I want to get it back. Sneaking will be easier said than done at this point." Fireclaw explained.

"As much as I hate to go this route, we have to get his stuff back. Allo told us to make sure to keep an eye out of something went bad with the Tyrannos. You have Tier 11's firing codes." David said.

"What the? Firing codes? YOU MEAN ALLO GAVE ME FIRING CODES? FIRING CODES TO WHAT?" Fireclaw frantically asked.

"We thought you knew already. Tier 11 is an orbital laser that Rex is trying to bring into Earth's orbit. We've kept it away for a while, but we're not having much luck now that Ghenghis Rex supposedly has a new 'weapon'." Ryan explained.

"Shit. This just went from bad to worse really fast." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw noticed police cars going up the main street and ducked a little.

"Listen, I'm going to find a rifle or something. Follow behind me and watch my back." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw ran across the yard and climbed into a tree in Ryan and Sara's yard. The scouts started up the street casually as Fireclaw weaved his way in and out of vehicles, houses and yards. He was amazed that he hadn't been seen running across the street by anyone else. Most of the town was preparing for the showing in the park of the rest of the dinosaurs.

Fireclaw fished his communicator of a concieled pocket in his tactical vest.

"I hate to ask this, but do any of you or your parents have a hunting rifle that I could use?" Fireclaw whispered over his communicator.

"Mine do, but it's locked in a safe and I don't have the combination to it." Paul said.

"Paul, I'm so sorry for doing this, but could I possibly borrow it for... Well a bit?" Fireclaw sheepishly asked. He wasn't expecting him to say anything positive about that idea.

"If you can get it, go ahead. It's on you though, Fireclaw, not me or any of us else." Paul reassured him.

"I know Paul, I went over this with Allo already. Listen, go to the park and wait there. Let me know if you see the convoy coming. You really can't miss it. I'm not sure how close they would be by now." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw made his way to Paul's house half way across town. He was nearly spotted twice by someone, but luckily dove out of the way.

"Paul, is the house empty?" Fireclaw asked.

"Yea, parents should be down at the park. You don't have long. Safe's in the garage." Paul replied.

"Thanks." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw put his tail under the door and forced it up enough that he could get a good grip on it. He rolled the wooden garage door up snuck inside, closing it behind him. Once in, Fireclaw found the safe tucked in a far back corner of the garage behind some bikes and storage bins. Fireclaw was able to use his keen sense of hearing to listen for the sounds of clicking when turning the cylinder. After a few tries the safe opened. Inside he found a 12-gauge shotgun with a box of shells, a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum revolver, and a bolt action rifle with a scope. Exactly what he needed. Fireclaw took the rifle and a box of rifle rounds. He shut the safe without taking anything else.

Just as Fireclaw turned to leave, the garage light came on. A side door opened, and Paul snuck in. He closed the door quietly behind him.

"The trucks are close. Are you sure you'll be able to make this work? That's a loud gun." Paul said.

"I don't have much choice. I need my shit back, at almost any cost." Fireclaw replied.

"Alright, we'll go out through the front, think you can get somewhere and hide for a bit?" Paul asked.

"I'll manage. It's not like I haven't been hiding in plain sight for the past while now anyway." Fireclaw replied.

Fireclaw and Paul walked out the front door and saw three men in what looked to be Safari outfits running up the street. Fireclaw ducked behind the doorframe and waited for them to pass.

"I haven't even gotten the chance to sight this yet. Damn, I'm just going to have to assume it'll work and try not to screw this up." Fireclaw said to himself quietly.

"It's safe, lets go!"

Fireclaw and Paul made it to the park. In the middle of the grassy clearing were three trucks. One looked to be a stage platform of some sort, another was a moving van like vehicle that Fireclaw knew had his other equipment in, and the front was the driver of the convoy itself hauling the cages. Hiding behind a tree, Fireclaw searched with the rifle scope a route to get close to the trucks without being seen. He didn't want to have to use the rifle but he was prepared to if it came to that.

"Fireclaw, listen. To your direct left you have a grocery store. If you go through the parking lot, you can get around to the back side of the park. You can take up a position to aim at the stage from a bush if you can fit in there." Sara told him over the communicator.

"So glad you never take your scout rings off. I'll get there, be watching for me and keep me updated." Fireclaw replied.

Fireclaw quickly sprinted across the street with the rifle. The crowd gathering around the open clearing at the park was enough of a distraction to allow him passage to the parking lot, but he still had to be quick about it. Once in the parking lot, he weaved through vehicles on his knees to avoid detection. He was nearly found out a few times when someone would walk by, but they paid no attention to him. Fireclaw crossed the street again and took cover behind the bush Sara was talking about. There was a small divide in the bushes that sheilded from the apartment buildings to his rear, yet gave him enough cover to aim the rifle through the shrubbery. David and Ryan sat right next to him to let Sara know that they found him and knew where he was. They would serve a distraction while Fireclaw took aim and searched.

"Paul, I need you to try and borrow a camera or something. Pose as a photographer and get close to the truck. I need you to go stand somewhere where you're conceiled so that I can get close to you." Fireclaw said.

"Will do Fire, I actually have a lie already made up. Be watching."

"Good. Hurry."

Fireclaw watched Paul walk over to the stage, then quickly and discreetly slip under some cords. He was confronted by some workers, but whatever he said they bought. They parted and left hi m to do what he was doing before. The truck that held his equipment had a door that faced Fireclaw. It would be easy to get in, but the door also faced open apartments.

"Paul, open the truck. I'm moving in."

Fireclaw quickly left the bushes and sprinted to the truck. He entered before he was seen by anyone else.

"Ok Paul, stand outside. You don't want to be in here for what happens next. Take the rifle and stash it." Fireclaw told him.

He handed Paul the rifle and shut the door. He stood guard outside as Fireclaw rummaged through the various equipment in the back of the truck. He found his sword, the emerald gauntlets Allo gave him, his pistol, Redclaw's daggers, and the computer chip he hid in the gauntlets.

Suddenly the pulsing in Fireclaw's head that he felt before was even stronger. His sword began to vibrate rapidly in his hand as he felt overcome by anger. That anger grew stronger and stronger quickly, and he knew he didn't have long before it had to come out. He opened the door and stepped out. Paul noticed something was visibly wrong when Fireclaw leaned up against the truck and let out a low, demonic growl.

"Paul... Back... Away..." Fireclaw growled out.

He watched as Fireclaw's skintone went from the normal green with red spots on his back to a dark black. The spots on his back became crimson red and began to glow.

"It's happening again..." Fireclaw thought to himself.

"I can't let it go now, not now."

Fireclaw fought himself to hold in the fury that was now consuming him. His arm began to grow dark tendrils from his shoulder down to the handle of his blade. Paul looked on in horror. He quickly ran away as Fireclaw began to grow tendrils out of the other shoulder and down to his fingertips.

Final preparations were being made before the unveiling of his friends to the world. He knew that he'd have to find Rex here. Ghenghis Rex would be here watching, he knew it. Rex wouldn't pass up an opportunity to witness the defeat of an enemy, unbeknownst to him that something else was happening at the same time.

As the opening speeches rolled out, Fireclaw's anger began to direct itself towards the speaker. He couldn't handle his voice, he wanted to silence him. The urge to split his skull with the blade grew more powerful, but he continued to resist. Surprisngly no workers had come behind the truck. They were all tending to Fireclaw's friends to pay any mind to anything else anyways.

Finally, the moment came. Fireclaw walked over towards the center stage and crouched down. His vision was turning red. His eye color was already blood red and glowing intensely. The scouts all watched from where he was perched minutes before. They didnt' believe anything they were seeing.

"Fireclaw are you okay? Fireclaw talk to me!" David told him over the communicator.

He bellowed a deep laugh that sounded more like a powerful demon's roar.

"Woah there folks, calm down. He's probably just a bit grumpy from waking up from his nap." The announcer said.

Fireclaw was close to snapping. He could feel it powerfully, and that remark lit the fuse. It wasn't a matter of if he unleashed it, now it was a matter of when. He was quickly losing control. The sword began to form itself into a large broad claymore. The blade had grown to about six feet in length and was almost a foot wide. A dark cloud enveloped the blade and swirled angrily like a hurricane blowing full force.

"And folks, without further ado, I present to you, for the first time in human history, a small group of real live dinosaurs!"

Fireclaw could see them being lead on stage in chains and shakles. They were muzzled and quite groggy from the tranquilizers. Fireclaw's eyes widened and finally he snapped.

"DIE!" Fireclaw screamed.

A shockwave erupted from under him as he soared into the air, blade held high above his head. The police shot at him but missed. Workers with tranquilizer guns fired darts, but they plinked off of Fireclaw's now rock solid scales. He roared a deep and loud roar, then thrust his hand forward. The gauntlet's power was amplified by the stone of coldfire's power flowing through Fireclaw's body. The workers were thrown backward with such force that they flew through the grocery store window Fireclaw passed by earlier.

Fireclaw spun the blade around and cut down more attacking workers brandishing stun rods. One managed to knick his shoulder. Fireclaw redirected the small shock and shot lightning bolts through the smaller man's body. He was fatally electrocuted from the shock.

Ghenghis Rex watched on in amusement as he watched Fireclaw hack and slash at people with the blade. He would smile when Fireclaw unleashed power in some form, whether it was the fire breathing roars, the dark balls of energy he would throw at cop cars and national guard vehicles coming in to try to take him down, or even the shockwaves he would create with the gauntlets.

Fireclaw freed his friends from their bonds. Redclaw took Fireclaw's pistol from his vest and started firing at police. They took cover behind vehicles while Fireclaw cleared a path using the sword. He swung the blade in a downwards slice creating a wind blade that spun cars down the street and threw loose objects skyward. The national guard were quick to get in front of him though. Redclaw stole the gun from one guardsman and knocked him unconsious while firing at the rest. Fireclaw did a spinning slice to clear them away. Chomper radioed for an evacuation at the nearest location from the signal, in hopes that someone would get it.

The loud slicing sounds the blades of a helicopter made passed overhead.

"Shit, we've got trouble!" Redclaw shouted.

Fireclaw walked calmly as he destroyed anything he could see. He noticed the chopper just before it opened fire with an on board minigun. The rest took cover in alleyways as Fireclaw quickly dodged the spray. A few bullets grazed him, but didn't seem to phase him much. A shockwave jump got him onto the helicopter quickly. From the ground the others watched as Fireclaw overtook the back of the chopper threw out its occupants. He then ripped the minigun from it's stand and landed back on the ground creating a crater on impact. Fireclaw then turned the minigun on the chopper itself and took it down with a volley of tracer rounds.

"I like this weapon." Fireclaw said with a dark, evil chuckle.

"I hope so, that thing better last you a while you psycho bastard!" Chomper said sarcastically.

"I do not like any of this, no no no!" Ducky shouted.

"You think any of us like this? Where are we anyway?" Cera asked.

"I can't remember the name of this town. I've been here only a few times." Chomper replied.

As Fireclaw carved a path of destruction with the minigun and his sword, they group made it to the outskirts of town with just about every form of law enforcement on their tails. Luckily they managed to come across a shipping company loading a semi. Chomper pounced on the idea and motioned for Fireclaw to follow. With Fireclaw keeping the enemy away, they would be able to escape by stealing a semi. Fireclaw felt his power begin to fade.

"Come on! Hurry! We're almost there! Hold them off for a little bit longer Fireclaw and we can get the hell out of here!" Chomper shouted.

Redclaw rammed through a fence and ordered the driver out of the truck at gunpoint. The driver did as told and ran in terror. Fireclaw was losing his powers fast, and he knew it. Chomper climbed in the drivers seat and looked at the gears.

"Oh shit, please let this be like Fireclaw's car back on reptillon. Please let this be like Fireclaw's car back on Reptillon!" Chomper shouted.

Once Chomper got the truck rolling, Fireclaw let the rest of his power go in a final focused blast towards the crowd of law enforcement blocking the exit. Fireclaw tried to focus his power more towards a blinding light so that they could get away without being followed. with both hands on the handle of his sword, he forced the blade upwards. A bright white light travelled up the blade of his sword and fired into the sky as a beacon. The flare was so bright that all around him had to close their eyes. He then turned the blade on the army that was blocking their path. He swept the blade back and forth ensuring that the beam fried them all.

The damage done was evident. Charred black remains of what once was an army stood before them. The beam was so powerful it distintegrated everythign it passed over. Fireclaw piled into the back of the truck with everyone else and drove off down the highway. Fireclaw missed his chance with Rex this time, but swore to himself he'd hunt him down no matter what cost.


	11. The Rainbow Faces Return

Chapter 11: The Rainbow Faces Return

Sitting by a small campfire back in the Great Valley, Chomper, Fireclaw and Littlefoot sat around discussing things that had happened earlier that day. Chomper had ditched the semi truck miles from where they picked it up once Allo was able to zero in on their location and evacuate them from the area.

"So what did you feel when you went... well crazy?" Chomper asked.

"Rage. Uncontrollable rage. A kind of fury that honestly doesn't seem natural, and probably wasn't." Fireclaw replied.

"That sounds scary. Is that how you got so powerful suddenly?" Littlefoot asked.

"Pretty much. It happened before as well, the day your grandmother was nearly executed. That's probably what triggered it honestly." Fireclaw replied.

As they sat talking something caught Littlefoot's eye. A blue speck of light streaked across the sky and landed just over the great wall. The exact wall where Ozzy and Strut were chased out of.

"Hey guys! Look!" Littlefoot said as he pointed out the light.

"That's awesome!" Chomper shouted.

"Uh oh." Fireclaw said with a hint of concern.

"Is that another stone of coldfire? I thought it was rare that they even landed." Fireclaw said to himself under his breath.

"I'll be right back." He said as he got up and walked towards the field they were sitting in.

"What's wrong with him?" Littlefoot said.

"I think I know. One second." Chomper replied.

Fireclaw was jogging over to the wall when Chomper up to him.

"Fire, what's up? You seem worried." Chomper asked.

"Chomper if that's another stone of cold fire that could mean something bad. Just look what it does to me!" Fireclaw replied.

"Wait, do you mean that it could..."

"Yes Chomper that's exactly what I mean!"

"How would someone even activate the stone's power? It didn't for Pterano at all, why would it suddenly work for someone else?"

"Because he didn't burn the stone."

"Burn the stone? what?"

"The way to activate the stone's power is to temper it with heat! It's called 'cold' fire for a reason." Fireclaw said with a matter of fact tone.

"Is that why it's called that?" Chomper asked curiously.

"Hell I don't really know." Fireclaw replied.

"Well it's what you did right? You have a powerful sword, and you forged it yourself. Something happened." Chomper said.

"I know that." Fireclaw said.

Chomper and Fireclaw were stopped in their tracks by someone running towards them.

"What the? Where'd he come from?" Chomper asked.

A visibly battered and bruised egg stealer collapsed before they could ask who he was.

"What the?" Fireclaw said.

"He looks familiar." Chomper said.

"Wait what?" Fireclaw asked.

"STRUUUUUT!" A deep voice boomed out over the trees.

"Oh... shit..." Fireclaw said to himself.

"Uhh Fire, I think we know who this is." Chomper said.

"Chomper quick grab a shoulder, we need to get him out of here. Whoever that was is probably hot on his ass right now!" Fireclaw barked out.

Chomper and Fireclaw dragged Strut back towards the woods as fast as they could go. Two beams of light came down in front of them in the treeline.

"Damn, not another stone!" Fireclaw shouted.

"We'll figure it out later, just keep running!" Chomper shouted back.

The bushes mysteriously parted for them as they drew closer. They dropped Strut in a small clearing in the shrubbery and fell down themselves. Fireclaw turned onto his back and was met by two fast runners. They looked back at him with a sort of all-knowing gaze. The rainbows on their faces were something Fireclaw hadn't seen before.

"What the? Who are you?" Fireclaw asked.

"Who we are isn't important. What is important is what found the stone that just fell." The first rainbow face said.

"Wait, what? Who are these two?" Chomper asked.

"Again, our identities are of no importance. A stone fell that we weren't expecting to fall, and it could mean a great danger is approaching." The other rainbow face said.

"So another stone did fall. Littlefoot was right." Fireclaw said.

Littlefoot as if on cue burst through the bushes full speed. He was panting hard himself.

"There's someone, or something in the valley! It just jumped over the great wall!" Littlefoot exclaimed just short of panic.

"Wow, today just isn't getting easier is it." Fireclaw said.

"That stone created it. Fireclaw, you have a sword made of the stone, correct?" One rainbow face asked.

"Yea, wait, how'd you know?" Fireclaw replied.

"We are the stone's keepers. One fell one time before and almost meant the end of Littlefoot here and his friends. A foolish flyer thought he could harness its power." The other rainbow face said.

"You mean Pterano." Fireclaw replied.

"You know that name." The second rainbow face said.

"That bastard nearly murdered Littlefoot's grandmother. Yes I know that miscreant's name." Fireclaw replied coldly.

"Hm, interesting. Something else we hadn't expected." The second rainbow face replied.

"Fireclaw, what's going on?" Chomper asked.

"I thought you'd have known, sharptooth. You've seen the power of the stone unveil itself twice. I'm sure you understand fully what's happening." The first rainbow face replied.

Chomper remained silent.

Fireclaw unsheathed his sword and sat up in a crouched position. He thrust the blade into the ground.

"There's something out there. My sword is drawing power from another source. Whatever it is must be really powerful." Fireclaw said.

"Exactly. That stone that fell could have been mistaken for an egg. This one was unusual. It was a smooth, egg-like stone. We hadn't expected it to fall, yet now our search must begin to find it." The second rainbow face said.

"He could have it with him." Fireclaw replied.

"One doesn't need to possess the stone to retain it's powers. If one is susceptible enough to becoming corrupt, he could retain the power without even needing to have the stone in his possession in the first place." The second rainbow face replied.

Fireclaw looked through the bushes to see a dark mass materializing in front of him. Dark columns swirled and twisted around it as it began to take form. It was definitely the same form as strut, only darker and it's claws were almost three times as long as Fireclaw's.

"Holy shit. What is that?" Fireclaw asked. For once in his life he felt intimidated.

"That's what found the stone. We must not let it retain that power!" The rainbow faces both said in unison.

They raised opposite hands and began to create a ball of light in their palms. The figure noticed this and disappeared in a haze of black smoke that faded as quickly as it formed.

"This will be interesting." Fireclaw said as he walked out of the bushes.

Fireclaw looked around nervously as he anticipated an attack. Whatever this was could be anywhere, and Fireclaw wasn't chancing anything. He held his sword in his hand firmly in case it tried to disarm him when he wasn't looking. The rainbow faces walked out as well and faced back to back, searching for this mysterious form.

"Fireclaw look out!" Littlefoot shouted.

Fireclaw was blindsided by a dark haze. A thick smoke swooped down from the sky and hit him with enough force to roll him almost twenty feet. His sword stuck into the ground where he was standing before the cloud hit him. The figure took form close to him. Fireclaw rolled away from it but was thrown into the air by a black tendril that forced its way up from the ground beneath him.

"Hang on Fire!" Chomper shouted.

Chomper sprinted towards Fireclaw. He grabbed his sword out of the earth and charged on. Chomper immediately felt a tingling sensation grow up his arm as he brandished the weapon. His arm began to shoot streaks of glowing red energy in the shapes of lightning bolts. His arm turned pitch black and began to feel cold.

Chomper swung the sword and sliced the tendril that was about to catch Fireclaw as he came down.

"SHIT!" Fireclaw screamed before he hit the ground.

Chomper pointed the sword toward the figure. It took up a fighting stance that resembled something a martial arts master would do. Chomper went in with a downwards slice but was swept over when the egg stealer performed a swift takedown. Chomper recoiled and clipped the egg stealer's leg. The egg stealer raised its hand and summoned a tendril to throw Chomper. Chomper rolled and sliced it off at the base. The egg stealer recoiled in pain, Chomper found it's weakness.

"OZZY STOP!" Strut screamed from a distance.

"There you are!" The egg stealer replied in a demonic voice.

He tried to fire a tendril, but Chomper cut it in half and cut the egg stealer's face with a well timed back swing.

"So, you're Ozzy huh?" Chomper said.

"Ozzy is no longer!" The egg stealer replied.

Chomper's arm was grabbed by a tendril and was forced to the ground. Just as Ozzy went to take Fireclaw's sword Fireclaw intercepted with a flying punch to his face. Black blood spurted shot out as his fist made contact and sent Ozzy flying backwards. Fireclaw picked up his sword and thrust it skyward. Dark tendrils formed from the hilt and spiraled into the sky. Dark clouds formed around his blade as it formed itself into the claymore that it formed the previous two fights.

Ozzy fired two tendrils to try to grab Fireclaw, but Fireclaw backflipped over them and sliced them in half. They dissipated in mid air when his blade went through.

"You fight well, Fireclaw. Have your preparations been made?" Ozzy asked.

"Preparations? What?" Fireclaw replied.

Ozzy levitated up from the ground and stayed for a brief moment. He threw his head back and spread his arms and legs. He let out a bloodcurdling scream that shook the ground and knocked treestars from their branches. An explosion of dark clouds and black orbs erupted as Ozzy was thrown forward from where he was floating. He rolled and hit a tree. A dark form that resembled Ozzy stayed in the same position as before. Tendrils rose from the ground and grabbed the form's arms and legs, pulling it into the earth. Dark clouds and bubbles formed from the earth like boiling water as the form was pulled into the ground, then disappeared once the figure's head was below the surface. Nothing remained of the black figure.

"Fireclaw, you alright?" Chomper asked.

Fireclaw noticed Chomper's arm hadn't changed back after letting go of the sword.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm sure it will go away." Chomper said.

"You fight well for an untrained sharptooth, Chomper." One rainbow face said.

"You got lucky now, but that form is the stone of coldfire's power with it's own body. It can take many forms, possess many individuals, and ultimately, if given enough power destroy the world." The other rainbow face said.

"How do we even beat that? He was raising shit out of the ground!" Fireclaw shouted.

"Your sword, Fireclaw." The first rainbow face said as he held his hand out.

Fireclaw handed him the sword. Both rainbow faces looked at each other and held their hands out in front of them. The sword began to levitate from their grasp. The sword enveloped itself in a bright light. Fireclaw could see it's shape changing from the simple broadsword to something more elegant and beautiful. The sword let off a shockwave of light that vibrated the ground. Floating point down was a sword more beautiful than Fireclaw had ever seen. The handle and hilt were a solid gold. The blade itself was a shiny silver that reflected Fireclaw's face like a mirror. A ruby, an emerald and a sapphire adorned the center of the blade.

"We come from a hallowed land. Our way of life is much different than yours. We devote ourselves to guarding the stones of cold fire. Their power is too great to lose, and if one is lost, the power could be misused and ultimately become a weapon." The first rainbow face said.

"The only weapon to defeat the power that the stones behold is a weapon so sacred, only few are ever able to use it. To prove their worth, the stone itself must be altered in some way. You, Fireclaw, have unlocked the magic of the blaze stone. Not all stones, as you've said, are activated by fire. You got lucky in finding the one that was, but the other stones, such as the Aerostone, the Hydrostone, the Spirit stone, and the Earth stone are activated in different ways." The second rainbow face said.

Fireclaw held the blade in his hands. It was twice as long as his sword he'd forged before.

"With the Blade of banishment, you now control the power of the spirits of dark and light. You, Fireclaw, can end what is beginning! You can stop the world from being devoured by the flames of wrath!" The first rainbow face said.

"There is a war going on in your world, is there not?" The second rainbow face said.

"How did you... yes." Fireclaw replied.

"The one who seeks to start this war has become the target for the stone's power. We can feel the stone's form as it lives on." The first rainbow face said.

"Fireclaw, that means-"

"Chomper, the stone is heading straight for Ghenghis Rex."


	12. Tyranno Terror, The War Begins

Chapter 12: Tyranno Terror, The War Begins

"He's awake!" Strut called out.

"Good, let's see what he remembers." Fireclaw replied.

Ozzy opened his eyes and found that his hand had been bound behind his back. He was sitting on the ground in front of Fireclaw, Chomper, the two rainbow faces, Strut and Littlefoot. He struggled against his bonds in frustration.

"Longneck." He sneered coldly, glaring at Littlefoot.

"Chill it, bitch. It's not his fault you went crazy. So Ozzy's your name huh?" Fireclaw said.

"What does it matter to you weed whacker?" Ozzy shot back.

Fireclaw grabbed him by the throat, lifted him and slammed him against the ground.

"Disrespectful little shit." Fireclaw said.

Chomper began to wince in pain as his arm began to pulsate again.

"You alright, Chomper?" Littlefoot asked.

"I'll be fine. Just an ache." Chomper said.

The rainbow faces began to look concerned.

"Chomper perhaps we should do something about your arm. You don't want that to spread, bad things could-"

"I don't need your help!" Chomper shot back coldly.

"What the hell? Chomper chill out, they're just offering to help you." Fireclaw replied.

Chomper glared at him for a moment, then softened his expression.

"Sorry, I just don't feel well right now." Chomper said.

"Chomper are you becoming corrupt?" Littlefoot asked.

"Littlefoot I'm-"

Chomper doubled over and grabbed his shoulder. The darkness in his arm was moving up quickly and had already consumed up to his shoulder. The rainbow faces grabbed a shoulder and helped him up. Chomper jerked away hard and fell over.

"Chomper what the hell is wrong with you?" Fireclaw asked.

"Fire... Something's wrong..." Chomper whimpered.

"We must purify him." one rainbow face said.

"And just how do you plan to do that?" Fireclaw asked with concern in his voice.

"Well we don't need to take his arm off. We just need a pool of water to submerge him in and purify." the other rainbow face said.

"We can use the watering hole over there if that will help. It's pretty deep and might work." Fireclaw said. He pointed towards a small pond in the middle of the Valley not too far from them.

"That should work. Now how do we get Chomper to go without resistance?" one rainbow face asked.

Fireclaw walked over to Chomper, who was now kneeling.

"Chomper, I am so sorry for what I'm about to do, but it's for the best." Fireclaw said quietly.

"Wait, wha-"

Fireclaw kicked Chomper in the side of the head with the side of his foot, knocking him unconscious immediately. He lifted him over his shoulder and began to walk towards the small pond to purify him.

"Well, that works." one rainbow face said.

"Well the alternative would be to fight him, which honestly you don't want to do." Fireclaw replied.

Upon reaching the pond, Fireclaw placed Chomper's limp body on the ground and searched for a shallow place that he could lay Chomper in that he wouldn't drown.

"So how do we do this exactly?" Fireclaw asked.

"We must make sure that the area around us has no evil, which it doesn't. All you must do is place him in the water, and we'll take over from there." one of the rainbow faces said.

"Alright. Easy enough." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw laid Chomper in a shallow spot he dug out with his tail. The water barely came above his face so he could breathe. He backed away from the pool once he placed him in the sand.

"Alright, do your thing." Fireclaw said.

The rainbow faces spread out so that they were on opposite sides of the pond. They looked at each other and nodded. They raised their claws to the sky and began to speak in tongues. Fireclaw couldn't understand at all what they were saying. It wasn't any form of leaf eater or sharptooth that Fireclaw had ever heard. Their normal speaking turned to chanting as the water began to sparkle. A white aura formed from the center and formed itself around the contours of the water. Fireclaw watched in amazement as the aura extended itself from the surface of the water to the sky. Small white orbs and particles began to rise out the center. Chomper glided from the small indentation in the sand that Fireclaw dug to the center of the pond and sank down.

"Oh shit!" Fireclaw yelled.

"Fire wait!" Littlefoot yelled to Fireclaw. Fireclaw froze.

"What the hell? The water's boiling!" Fireclaw said in amazement.

The water bubbled furiously as if it were a hot spring. The water went from the crystal clear it once was to black as oil. The rainbow faces began to glow with a white aura as they continued their ritual. Fireclaw was hoping that they hadn't attracted attention from anyone else. The water began to rise and form a pyramid like shape. It was a perfect square pyramid rising out of the water. The pyramid itself was made of water, but water ran off of it as if it was a solid object. Fireclaw couldn't see through it at all. A bright light pierced the top of it and shot out through the bottom and into the pond. The pond's crystal clear color had returned. The black pyramid began to vibrate intensely.

"Uhh Fireclaw, what's happening?" Littlefoot asked.

"Hit the dirt, Littlefoot!" Fireclaw screamed.

The pyramid shattered like glass. Shards of the pyramid turned back into water as they flew away from Chomper, who was now levitating in the air. He had a lighter skin tone that Fireclaw remembered him having before. Chomper opened his eyes and looked at Fireclaw.

"He's probably so pissed at me for kicking him in the head." Fireclaw said.

"I don't blame him." Littlefoot replied.

"Gee, thanks." Fireclaw said.

The rainbow faces moved their arms over towards the shore and Chomper floated softly down. He walked onto the soft sand around the pond with grace. The aura around the pond disappeared and the rainbow faces concluded the ritual. They looked exhausted from how much power they put out.

"Well, how do you feel now?" Fireclaw asked.

"A little weird. Better, but weird." Chomper replied.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Littlefoot said.

Fireclaw walked over to the rainbow face on the right side of the pond.

"So, he's pure now?" Fireclaw asked.

"Yes, but there's another problem. You can't destroy darkness entirely. We may have separated it from his body, but it has to go somewhere. Unfortunately, I have not enough power to be able to detect where it went." The rainbow face replied.

"Well, on the bright side, at least now I don't have to worry about him slitting my throat in my sleep." Fireclaw said.

"Don't feel too secure. It doesn't mean that he can't become corrupt again. He'll have a better grip on it if he does, but he's not totally immune to it." The rainbow face said.

"Noted. Now, where did you last feel the energy from Ozzy go? Speaking of which, where is he?" Fireclaw said.

"You left him in the field where you slammed him."

"Right!"

Fireclaw turned and walked back to Littlefoot and Chomper.

"Let's go see what Ozzy remembers. Littlefoot, you may just want to go hang out with the others. Ozzy doesn't seem too fond of you." Fireclaw said.

When Fireclaw, Chomper and the rainbow faces got back to where the first fight happened, Strut was eating grass while a visibly displeased Ozzy was cursing him for it. He screamed at Strut about how eggs were supposed to be part of his diet, not plants.

"Glad to see you've recovered from your little trip back to Earth. Now, are you ready to tell me just what happened, or is another flight required?" Fireclaw asked tauntingly.

"Ozzy, just tell them. It's not like they will do anything to you for it. They're looking for the same stone that you picked up anyways." Strut said.

"Hmm, a stone you say? I thought that stone was an egg. I picked it up, and next thing I know I'm laying against a tree. If that leaf gobbling longneck had anything to do with this, I'll-"

Fireclaw put the blade of his sword under his chin.

"Littlefoot had nothing to do with this. Leave him out of it." Fireclaw commanded.

He lowered his blade sheathed it again.

In the distance a bellowing roar was heard, followed by Cera screaming.

"That can't be good." Fireclaw said.

"Come on, let's go check it out!" Chomper said.

Strut started after them.

"Uhh Strut, it would probably not be a good idea for you to tag along. You did nearly kill Littlefoot once, the grown-ups around here won't take likely to that." Fireclaw informed him.

Fireclaw unsheathed his sword and held the blade in his hand as he sprinted across the field towards the nesting grounds and the thundering falls.

Fireclaw heard arguing and took cover behind a tree. Chomper took cover behind a tree opposite Fireclaw.

"I don't care what you think Longneck, there's no reason that my daughter will be running around while there are those sharpteeth, fast biters, whatever you want to call them running around our valley!" Topsy shouted.

"Now Mister Threehorn I understand where you're coming from, but there is no reason you should have to shelter your daughter from seeing Littlefoot. Littlefoot didn't do anything wrong. Surely you can see a better way to handle this." Grandpa Longneck pleaded.

Fireclaw looked over and mouthed the word asshole to Chomper. Chomper chuckled.

Fireclaw heard someone whispering next to him. He looked over and saw Redclaw hunched over behind a bush.

"It's so weird seeing you about my height and not towering over everyone trying to kill them." Fireclaw said quietly.

"You won't believe what just happened, actually, follow me. I'll show you." Redclaw replied.

Fireclaw looked up and saw blood on Topsy's horn. He had a feeling about what Redclaw wanted to show him.

Redclaw lead Chomper and Fireclaw over to Topsy's nest. There was a pool of blood next to it and a blood trail leading from the nest back into the woods.

"What happened here?" Fireclaw asked.

"Go look in the trees. Topsy did this, and right in front of Cera."

Fireclaw made his way through the trees and found a large pool of blood near a bush. Behind the bush was the corpse of a Tyranno mercenary. There was a large hole about the same diameter as Topsy's horn through his abdomen.

"Holy shit..." Fireclaw said under his breath.

Fireclaw walked back out of the trees. Chomper went in after him and nearly threw up when he saw the body.

"Topsy... Did he impale the mercenary on his horn?" Fireclaw asked.

"He rammed his horn up through that thing's stomach, then threw it off of his horn and into the woods where you saw it just then. I watched it from behind a tree when I noticed the mercenary going towards his nest. It was pretty insane." Redclaw replied.

The three walked back to the Thundering Falls. Topsy and Grandpa Longneck were done fighting. Cera was crying while Littlefoot was trying to console her. She sobbed endlessly while incoherently trying to recall what she had seen Topsy do. She was beyond mortified when trying to explain what happened.

"Fireclaw, Allo's trying to get a hold of you. You might want to radio back to Lavadome. He says it's urgent." Chomper told him.

"Alright, is something wrong?" Fireclaw asked.

"Not sure. We'll find out probably." Chomper replied.

Fireclaw fished his communicator out of a pocket on his vest.

"Allo, Fireclaw here. You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Fireclaw, Teryx here. Listen, something's going on at Tar pit. Terrible-Dactyl just showed up and he looks like he's been beaten up pretty bad. He's got deep lacerations across his chest too. Think you could make it back here?" Teryx said.

"Sure, send me an evac and I'll be there before too long." Fireclaw replied.

"Will do. Sending Bronto Thunder to come pick you up. Teryx out."

"What happened?" Chomper asked.

"Pterano got a good dose of karma it sounds like. That bastard." Fireclaw replied while chuckling to himself.

"Did Rex beat the hell out of him?" Chomper asked.

"Sounds like it. Teryx said that something was going on at Tar pit and that Pterano ran off all places to Lavadome for help." Fireclaw replied.

"Ok, so she wants us there then?" Chomper asked.

"Yea, Bronto Thunder is coming shortly." Fireclaw replied.

Redclaw walked over, followed by the rainbow faces.

"You said we're going to Lavadome?" Redclaw asked.

"Yea, wait are the rainbow faces coming?" Fireclaw asked.

"We feel the need to. Something doesn't seem right. When the black energy left Ozzy's body, it went elsewhere. Somehow I have a feeling that it went somewhere where it really shouldn't be. Perhaps we could come along just in case?" One of the rainbow faces said.

"If you want, I don't really care." Fireclaw replied.

"By the way, we really haven't introduced ourselves to you. We try to keep relationships with others on Earth to a minimum, but you've earned the right so far to know who we are at least. It's the first step in a journey you've begun and don't even know it yet." one of the rainbow faces said.

"I am Falchion, and this is my sister Aeris."

"Pleasure to meet you. I had no idea you rainbow faces were so powerful, I can understand why you try to distance yourselves from the rest of the world." Fireclaw said.

"Your world and ours aren't the same. That doesn't mean that they don't intertwine, but it isn't often that they do." Aeris said.

"The hallowed land that we come from has nothing in common with your world, Fireclaw. The sword you wield now is a sacred blade from our land that very few have ever touched. It's a symbol of a warrior in our land, and most importantly a symbol of a guardian of the stones." Falchion said.

Bronto Thunder landed his ship in a field nearby. Fireclaw helped everyone aboard and closed the doors.

"Bronto, what the hell is going on at Tar Pit?" Fireclaw asked.

"Something bad, Fire. There's definitely something going on out there, and it isn't good." Bronto Thunder replied.

"I hope it's not what we're thinking it is." Aeris said.

After a short ride back, everyone unloaded in Lavadome's hangar. Fireclaw could tell something was wrong. Sarah was standing at the elevator doors waiting for Bronto Thunder's return.

"Everything alright?" Fireclaw asked her.

"Not really. Hopefully Terrible Dactyl can explain it when you get up there." Sarah replied.

"Sarah, let me be honest, he's not Terrible Dactyl. His name is actually Pterano." Fireclaw said.

Everyone walked into the control room and as described, Pterano looked beat to hell. Fireclaw walked over to him.

"Payback's a bitch isn't it, even if it isn't me administering it." Fireclaw said.

"Now isn't the time, Fire. Genghis Rex went insane and destroyed everything! He... He turned completely black, his eyes glowed red, he-"

"He started creating weird tentacle things out of the floor, grabbing and throwing shit with them, right?" Fireclaw asked.

"How did you know?" Pterano asked.

"I just got into a fight with someone who could do that earlier last night. Honestly if you think I don't know what was happening with him then you're sadly mistaken." Fireclaw replied.

"So it's true. The corruption has taken it's hold on him. This is bad, Fireclaw. Do you know what this means? Do you have any idea what this means?" Falchion asked.

"I have an idea." Fireclaw replied worriedly.

"Everyone in here should hopefully understand now that this Tyranno vs. Dinosaucer ordeal isn't the main focus anymore. Your war and their war are no longer important. This isn't a war between factions anymore. This is a war of light and dark." Aeris said.

Chomper immediately tried to engage the lock on the control room door without warning. Something kept the door from closing completely. Chomper looked under the door and saw a black vapor pouring from under it. Chomper tried harder to force the doors closed but they wouldn't budge. Redclaw drew Fireclaw's .357 from his side and aimed at the door. Fireclaw drew his sword and braced for the door to be thrown open.

"He's here! That thing is here!" Pterano screamed.


	13. A Nightmare Approaches

Chapter 13: A Nightmare Approaches

"Fireclaw, wake up!" Chomper said while shaking Fireclaw furiously.

"Ugh, I'm up! What happened?" Fireclaw asked.

Fireclaw's eyes widened when he saw the control room. It was a mess, monitors had been smashed, equipment lay strewn around the room, Fireclaw's sword lay embedded in a wall next to the door, and there was no sign of Allo or the other Dinosaucers.

"What the hell happened here?" Fireclaw asked.

"Genghis Rex happened. The door came flying when I just had it closed, and..." Chomper trailed off towards the end of his sentence. Fireclaw could see the despair in his eyes.

"Oh no, don't tell me..." Fireclaw replied.

"It would seem that whatever that was took your friends. They're in for a ride, I'll put it that way." Falchion said.

"What makes you say that?" Fireclaw asked.

"Genghis Rex is now the embodiment of the stone's true power. His soul has been replaced, hopefully temporarily by a darker entity." Falchion explained.

"Great... So you're basically telling me that we have to fight whatever that is." Fireclaw replied.

A loud crash caught everyone's attention from down the hall. Fireclaw pulled his sword out of the wall before leaving to investigate. The halls of Lavadome were equally as bad as the control room. Lights were broken and left hanging from the ceiling. Some areas had no power at all, and required a flashlight to navigate them.

"Okay listen, this may sound really stupid, but hear me out. We have to split up and try to find any remaining Dinosaucers, or possibly secret scouts! I honestly hope they didn't decide to pop in just as that happened." Fireclaw informed.

"Alright, Falchion and I will the larger area back that way." Aeris said referring to the Hangar.

"Chomper and I will try and check around the control room and living quarters." Redclaw said.

"Redclaw, if you're going to do that take this." Fireclaw said as he handed him an override card for the locks.

"I'm not sure if you'll need this, but who knows. Lavadome usually goes into a lockdown state when the power's out. The locks have their own supply, though, and require a manual override." Fireclaw added.

Everyone departed for their designated areas. Fireclaw turned and clicked on his flashlight that was clipped to a vest pocket. He weaved in and out of fallen debris and parts of the ceiling that had fallen during the attack. Fireclaw didn't realize Genghis Rex had become so powerful. Fireclaw could hear someone breathing deeply, as if terrified. Fireclaw unsheathed his sword slowly so it wouldn't be loud and turned his flashlight off. He put his back to the corner of the wall and held his sword with a firm grip.

"Who's there?" Fireclaw called out.

"F-F-Fireclaw? Is that you?" Someone replied back.

"Quackpot, you alright? What the hell did Rex do?" Fireclaw replied. He sheathed his sword and turned his light back on. He was almost appalled at Quackpot's appearance.

"I know, I look rough. Genghis Rex went berserk and threw me against a few walls... and maybe dragged me across a few rough ceilings and metal floors..." Quakpot replied.

"Holy shit he has gotten stronger. He's got Allo and probably the rest of the Dinosaucers as well. He took out the control room door and demolished Lavadome, as you can probably see." Fireclaw replied.

"Listen, I heard Rex say something about the moon just before he literally exploded. He sounded almost like there were a bunch of voices talking through him at once. Something about a blood moon or something." Quakpot said.

"A blood moon? I know they call it a blood moon if the sun reflects on it and turns it red, but what... oh... oh shit... Quakpot, are you talking about an eclipse? A long time ago I heard, well you don't know them but someone talking about a red eclipse or something. A meteor shower that comes early. The Longnecks migrate around that time, but it's not supposed to be happening now! Did he say when or something?" Fireclaw exclaimed ecstatically.

"I'm not sure. He just rambled on and on, then Tar pit shook like crazy. The doors on his control room hit the opposite wall with such force that they stuck in and won't even budge." Quakpot replied.

Fireclaw walked a little past Quackpot and stopped. He unsheathed his sword and watched something move across the wall towards them.

"This can't be good."

"Fireclaw what is it?"

The shadow stepped out of the wall and charged towards Fireclaw. Fireclaw blocked a swing it took at him and countered with a low spinning strike. The shadow jumped back and kicked the sword into the ceiling, then followed with a spinning heel kick. Fireclaw flipped backwards and landed in a crouched position. He lept up from the floor and tried to tackle the form but the form dissipated as he made contact with it. Quakpot grabbed his sword from the ceiling and tossed it to him.

"What was that?" Fireclaw shouted.

"That must have been a Wraith. Rex mentioned something about the unleashing of the wraith. Then something about the calling of corruption to cleanse the world, then something about the fires of darkn-"

"Flames of wrath." Fireclaw cut in.

"Yes. The flames of wrath, how'd you know?" Quackpot replied.

"Trust me, someone I know will be very interested to hear what you have to say." Fireclaw said.

Fireclaw and Quackpot ran back through the hallways and back to the control room. Fireclaw took out his communicator and switched to Lavadome's emergency intercom frequency. He hoped that the backup generators also allowed the intercoms power. Fireclaw heard a feedback from the intercom system indicating that it did in fact have life left in it.

"Attention, this is Fireclaw. If your search turns nothing up, meet back in the control room. Aeris and Falchion, I have something you'll want to hear." Fireclaw announced.

Within minutes everyone was back in the control per Fireclaw's request. There, a visibly bruised and battered Quackpot stood. He was somewhat intimidated by the group coming through the door all at once, especially after all he'd been through.

"What was it Fireclaw? What did you want to tell us?" Redclaw asked.

"Its not me that has something to say. Quackpot overheard Rex talking to himself before some explosion happened and wrecked everything." Fireclaw replied.

"Its true, Genghis Rex has gone insane!" Quackpot said between sobs. Fireclaw couldn't blame him for losing his composure now.

"Look, basically what he said was something calling the fires to cleanse the world of corruption or some shit. And something about a wraith." Fireclaw finished.

"The wraith... The wraith is another name for the shadow of whatever the power has consumed. It's what gives the stone's power the ability to maintain a form as well as travel. It's also extremely powerful, and never a good thing to confront. Not on a physical level at least." Falchion explained.

"A physical level?" Chomper asked.

"It's a spirit. A very evil spirit." Aeris replied.

Something in the hangar fell and rumbled the floor underneath the group. Fireclaw drew his sword and stood next to the door of the control room in an ambush stance. He motioned for Chomper or Redclaw to stand next to him with a gun to watch if something came through.

"Okay, I'm going to go see what that was, stay behind me." Fireclaw whispered.

"Alright, Redclaw grab that shotgun." Chomper said pointing to a shotgun laying on the table. It was the one Chomper carried in before the attack.

Fireclaw and Chomper snuck around the corner quietly. Redclaw stayed behind to keep the peace in case something else was around the control room. Fireclaw and Chomper crept quietly down the hallway, trying as hard as possible not to make any noise. Whatever was making the banging noise wasn't happy, and probably not small either.

"Fire, look!" Chomper pointed to a sillouete of something in the distance. It was hard to make out what it was in the dark, but Fireclaw didn't want to draw attention with a flashlight in case it was hostile and didn't know they were there.

Chomper went down on one knee and aimed the shotgun. It wasn't a good idea for Fireclaw to walk in front of Chomper while he was aiming a shotgun down the hallway. Suddenly Fireclaw turned and ran back. He signaled for Chomper to move closer and prepare to take a shot. Fireclaw dove over Chomper's head as he knelt and Chomper fired. The percussion from the shotgun blast kicked Fireclaw's temples as Chomper unleased a flurry of 12 gauge buckshot down the small hallway. The shadow darted to the left quickly in the direction of the hangar elevator, then disappeared around the corner. Chomper began to move in, Fireclaw following closely behind. Fireclaw tried to channel his energy to the blade to prepare a slice backed with hallowed power. Hallowed power wasn't as easy as dark power to conjure together.

Fireclaw held the now glowing blade up as a torch. He also stayed ready for an attack in case they were ambushed or something decided to surprise them. Chomper put his back to the wall and cocked a shell into the chamber. He nodded at Fireclaw, who returned the gesture. Chomper spun the corner and fired. He hit nothing. There was nothing to hit but the elevator doors, which were now riddled with small pellet holes.

"What the? Where did he go?" Chomper asked frantically.

"I- I- what? That- that thing wasn't natural! It was covered on blood! It was easily as tall as Allo! It was drenched in blood! How did the muzzle flash not even show any of the blood on him? Why is there no blood?" Fireclaw rambled on incoherently at what he had just seen. Whatever it was, he was visibly shaken by it.

"Fire, calm down. You're not the one to freak out, so I'm sure whatever you saw wasn't great. Let's get back to the control room and try to make sense of this." Chomper suggested.

"We're leaving. No way we're staying here with that... thing... running around. Listen, there's a secret exit through one of the labs. It's an emergency exit in case something happened that we needed a quick escape. We'll use that to get out. We're not going back through the hangar. I want nothing to do with that thing!" Fireclaw exclaimed.

"Alright, alright. We're leaving. Let's get everyone together and-"

"Fireclaw, Chomper get in here! We got the surveillence working and you're going to love this!" Redclaw called from the control room.

"Oh shit... That could be what I was talking about." Fireclaw said under his breath.

Fireclaw and Chomper ran to the control room and were greeted by the only monitor that wasn't broken. It had a live feed of the hangar up. Exactly as Fireclaw described, something was bleeding from everywhere and was standing in the light of one of the emergency lights. It was dripping blood on the floor, but the blood was disappearing as it pooled.

"That's what was standing in front of us!" Fireclaw shouted.

"This is one of the demons we tried to contain when we sealed the stone's power." Falchion replied.

"That's it, we're leaving. There's no way we can take him here. He'd kill us all before we'd even have an advantage here." Fireclaw said in a very serious tone.

Falchion and Aeris looked at each other and nodded.

"Ok, so there's a secret enterance in the lab we can take. We'll use that to-"

"Fireclaw, we can take this from here. Everyone, form a circle and join claws." Aeris interrupted.

Fireclaw fell silent and complied. Everyone stood in a connected circle in the middle of the control room. Falchion and Aeris began to circle them with their arms raised. They began to speak in a strange and unfamiliar tongue, just as they had with Chomper's purification. Soon, Fireclaw's vision began to fade to white. It was a very bright white, almost as if he'd been blinded by a light bulb, yet it didn't hurt his eyes. It was almost soothing for them.

When his vision returned to normal, he saw that they had returned to the Great Valley. Something seemed very wrong though. The sun was just going down, it had to have been late afternoon. Normally there would be signs of activity, but the Valley was deserted.

"What's going on? Where is everyone?" Strut asked.

"I don't know. Rather interesting that they'd return to their nests this early." Ozzy replied.

"I don't think they did it by choice. Do you feel that? Something feels... Off." Fireclaw replied.

"You're right to listen to your feelings, Fireclaw. Something is happening close to here. It's definetely an evil presense." Falchion replied.

Everyone followed Fireclaw as he lead them to the Longneck's nest. There they found Grandma Longneck and Littlefoot huddled together. Grandpa Longneck was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Grandpa Longneck?" Chomper asked.

Littlefoot looked up. A single tear rolled down his face. Fireclaw knew what happened.

"Eldin's awakening again, isn't he?" Fireclaw asked.

Aeris gave him a curious look.

"How did you know that he embodied the spirit of Eldin?" Aeris asked.

"I'm not sure. I've actually encountered him, not in a bad way, but it was when we fought Redclaw before he turned. He was a giant beast that looked exactly as Brontothunder would, of course you dont' know him. He's basically a Longneck that walks exactly as I do. He was powerful, I'll give him that. I just somehow though knew the name. I'm not sure how." Fireclaw explained.

"Very interesting. Eldin was the other demon we'd bound to the stone. There were two demons we'd managed to seal away. One we tried to seal continued to elude us. He was the more powerful of the two demons we'd sealed. His name was Valmonway. Valmonway could only be summoned during a ritual that if completed successfully, would bring about the flames of wrath. This is what Pterano talked about. We didn't want to tell you because we were testing you. We would have told you eventually, don't get us wrong, but you've caught on well." Falchion explained.

"So you mean this whole time, you lead us on? We did everything ourselves and you did the bare minimum you could? What is wrong with you?" Chomper angrily interjected.

"We're divine beings in your world. We're not even supposed to have contact with you. We're choosing to help you through our own will, which is something we wouldn't even do for Littlefoot to the extent we are with you." Aeris replied.

"So then who are the other two demons you sealed away?" Redclaw asked.

"Eldin was one. Grandpa Longneck isn't Eldin himself, just the embodiment of him. It's what gives him the brutality and strength he possesses when you fought along side him Fireclaw. The other's name was Astrix. He was an extremely powerful and malevolent being. He had the ability to control the darkness itself. He was powerful enough to banish souls to any realm he pleased. Of course, I don't want to get into the faith aspect of this, so I'll keep it simple." Falchion explained.

"So Astrix and Eldin are going to try to summon Valmonway and ultimately purge the world in flames, huh?" Fireclaw asked.

"That's their plan. That's the reason they both walk your world now. They have Valmonway's soul as well. It's the one that has possesses Genghis Rex. When you released the power from Ozzy by defeating the shade, you ultimately broke a seal that withheld Valmonway's spirit. You were supposed to win that fight. By defeating the shade, you unleashed the soul of the dark lord himself." Falchion explained.

"So wherever you come from has a Dark lord and a Light lord, right? Am I getting this?" Chomper asked.

"We have the Dark lord, and the Overseer of Light. Together, they create a balance that's even visible in your world. You know them as Good and Evil, and from what we'd observed from those strange smooth skinned creatures Heaven and Hell." Aeris said.

"You mean humans? Yeah, they have an interesting belief in that." Fireclaw remarked. Chomper gave him a disapproving look.

Fireclaw looked over to Littlefoot and Grandma Longneck. They both remained silent, but he could tell they were listening.

"Littlefoot, which way did Grandpa Longneck go?" Fireclaw asked.

"He went towards the northern pass, where the farwalkers come in." Littlefoot replied.

"I know you're afraid Littlefoot, but I'm going doing this for Grandpa Longneck. I'm doing this for everyone. I know I've been a bastard in the past, but I still have some light left in my soul. I'll fix this, I promise." Fireclaw told him.

Littlefoot looked him in the eye and smiled. Fireclaw smiled back, then stood up.

"Fireclaw listen, if I'm correct, they're going to try the binding ritual. As close as Chomper and you are, Chomper can't do this. We're going to have to battle this one out as the ones who walk in the light. During this ritual, there are three that represent each side of the balance. It starts with the swordbearers, who carry the banes of light and dark. There is also the Right and Left wing soldiers. Those soldiers serve as guardians to the bearers. We're going to have to fight them as a three-warrior army, and they will do the same. In order for the binding ritual to complete, both swords must cross in the midst of the full moon. When the light meets the blades, Valmonway's power will awaken. You must not lose that sword when you fight them!" Falchion told Fireclaw.

"Alright. I'm not sure how we're going to find Allo, but we're going to have to do our best for now until we can-"

"Fireclaw you realize that the balance exists as well with Dinosaucer and Tyranno, right? I hope you realize that if Valmonway has Rex, he'll have Allo as well. Light and dark, good and evil, see where I'm going? Chances are he'll have two soldiers himself, and it's going to be them." Pterano interrupted.

"Pterano I really hope you're wrong, but I'm not doubting you either. If he needs champions to walk the Earth as well, believe it or not I'd do the same thing." Fireclaw said.

"We musn't wait. The moon will soon be rising. They've already called upon it, I can feel it. We must hurry!" Aeris said.

Chomper grabbed Fireclaw's claw firmly.

"Good luck, Fire. Burn them all!" Chomper told him.

"With pleasure." Fireclaw replied devilishly.


	14. Igniting the Inferno

Chapter 14: Igniting the Inferno

* * *

It was a long walk to Saurus Rock, but Fireclaw never slowed or lagged behind. He lead the whole way there, ignoring any signs of weakness from his muscles from the constant walking. His feet never ached, his legs never burned, and his lust for blood grew. The feeling Fireclaw got when the Cold Fire sword began to take it's toll on him was gradually returning even though his sword was a hallowed and purified blade. The sword's shining silver blade with its golden hilt and handle reflected the moonlight like a flawless mirror. The moon began to acquire a crimson tint as it rose higher into the sky. The view of the Great Valley as they began to ascend the base of Saurus Rock was breathtaking. Fireclaw was impressed that they had no trouble with sharpteeth or dark beings as they made their way up.

"So Fire, what do you plan to do exactly? Do you know who will fight with you?" Strut asked.

"The only ones who are capable of being his two champions are my brother and I." Aeris replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Strut sheepishly backed off.

"Fireclaw, there is something you must know about Valmonway. I figured I'd take this opportunity as we're climbing to tell you it. Valmonway is a fallen divine prince. As strange as this may sound, if you have any intention of killing him, you must not fight with dark power. He can feed off of that and regenerate himself, no matter what you do to him. I can still sense the darkness in your soul, unfortunately, and you must try to suppress it as much as you can." Falchion explained.

"A fallen divine prince? Sounds like something Allo told me about a while ago. Some religion or something back on Reptilon, something like the seven-"

"The seven sires? The seven sires of Indra?" Falchion interrupted.

"How the hell did you know that?" Fireclaw asked curiously.

A tree broke away from the weight of a huge boulder sitting on it. The steep incline sent the boulder rolling down the hill at a dangerously high speed. Fireclaw and Falchion dove opposite directions to avoid being crushed.

"That was close." Falchion said.

"Got that right. Anyhow, how did you know about the seven sires? I thought it was just some religious thing or something Allo was into. I know his Aunt and Uncle are somewhat." Fireclaw said again.

"Where do you think we rainbow faces come from? We aren't just magical beings you know, okay well maybe we are, but we do have to come from somewhere. Valmonway is one of the seven sires. He's the sire of corruption." Falchion replied. Fireclaw was a bit taken back by the fact that Allo could have been worshiping a corrupt lord.

"Well, that's awesome to know..." Fireclaw said nervously.

After a couple hours of hiking up the side of Saurus Rock, the group decided to rest for a while. Fireclaw looked at a watch he had and saw that the time was only about eight thirty. Only four hours until the world fell apart at the seams. The sky was totally clear with no clouds in sight, and a wind began to blow. At first everyone had attributed it to their altitude, but the wind was growing stronger. Dark clouds began to swirl over the summit of Saurus Rock. Lightning flashed and struck very close to the group. Pterano was nearly blown off on two different occasions and was struggling to keep his balance and grip in a tree he was huddled against. Fireclaw used his sword as a climbing axe and dug the blade into the ground to climb the hillside and keep his footing as the dust blew wildly from the sudden windstorm. The swirling clouds opened a circle in the eye and a blue light began to emanate from the center of it. It shined down directly on top of Saurus Rock not far from where the group was. Their climb was nearing it's end and soon they'd have to face the source of the storm.

As they approached the top of the giant rock they could see a tall longneck standing on its hind legs facing away from them. His arms were folded across his chest and a halberd radiating a black flame was fastened to his back. Fireclaw was the first to climb to his feet. There was no wind on top of Saurus Rock while everything else around it flew up and around them as if they'd just entered a raging tornado. Trees and rocks blew around them in wide circles and dust clouds had blotted out the view of the Great Valley. A gray cylinder surrounded them all and their only source of light was the eye of the storm glaring down on them with the fury of a hurricane.

"I'm so delighted to see that you've taken care of my Grandson in my absence." The longneck said. It definitely did not sound like Grandpa Longneck.

"Eldin. So it's true, you do plan to resurrect Valmonway." Fireclaw said coldly.

"You've always been quick to catch on, Fireclaw. I suppose that comes with your job title, being the militaristic one that you are." Eldin replied tauntingly. Fireclaw grew angrier as he spoke.

"Military or no military, you and that bastard you call a lord are going to die right here. You will die by my hand alone. And the spirits of the many that have fallen to my blade because of the dark power that your 'lord' consumed me with will guide my blade to send you to the darkest pits of hell!" Fireclaw shouted. A sonic boom erupted from him as he shouted the last few words.

"You always have been one of talk. Perhaps you've kept your sanity due to your keen sense of forgiveness, or maybe you're just too cowardly to fight someone of your skill." Eldin taunted.

"Perhaps you should do the same then. I know you're hiding something, Eldin. I sense another presence with you as well you hypocritical bastard." Falchion declared.

Eldin turned and smirked. He had the body and face of Bron and the skin tone of Grandpa Longneck. His armor was adorned with elegant patterns of vines and leaves. His breastplate was almost gladiator-like. The silver reflected the blue light from the storm off almost as perfectly as Fireclaw's blade did. He was wearing the same force emerald gauntlets that Fireclaw was. The emerald in the gauntlet began to glow as Eldin extended his right arm outwards. He gave a menacing look as a pool of liquid began to form on the ground underneath his hand. The liquid bubbled violently and began to take form. Soon the features of a Tyrannosaur was born from the pool of red liquid on the ground. The blood-like liquid instantly faded to the features and textures of Genghis Rex's body. He wore the same armor Eldin did, only his weapon was a massive double sided battle axe instead of a halberd.

"Hello, Fireclaw." Rex growled. He bared his teeth to Fireclaw to intimidate him, but Fireclaw stood unaffected by the attempt.

"Genghis Rex. Of course you'd be the one to be overwhelmed by the stone's power." Fireclaw said.

The three began to circle each other weapons drawn.

"There's no need to worry about Allo. He soon will feel our power. He soon will bow to the true lord of this world!" Genghis Rex declared. He banged the butt of his axe against the ground and cracked the ground on impact.

Falchion and Aeris looked at each other, nodded, then crouched down. At the same time they both levitated into the air and spread their arms out. A white light began to beam down on them to the point where the brightness completely masked their form. A few seconds later the light faded and they now wore the same style armor as Falchion and Genghis Rex. They both wielded the same sword as Fireclaw. They stepped in line with Fireclaw and faced their opponents.

"Now this isn't very fair is it?" Eldin said with an evil chuckle.

"Two against three? Of course I can't ask anything of my loyal Tyranno to help me in my time of need, that traitorous bitch." Rex said. He looked at Pterano, who in return flipped him off.

"I say it's time that we bind our true lords soul to the world. That we call him forth from the planes of the Infinite Beyond and let him take flesh again!" Eldin dramatically exclaimed.

"Marvelous idea!" Rex chimed in just as dramatically.

Eldin and Rex crossed their weapons under the light of the storm. The full moon was now directly overhead. Their weapons began to glow a bright white, then quickly faded to a dark blue. Fireclaw leaped forward and slashed down between their weapons knocking them apart.

"You bastard! Very well, if you want to do battle here, then so be it! We'll just have to give our lord a temporary body!" Eldin angrily yelled.

A dark mass fell from the sky and hit the ground directly in front of the five warriors. As the mass began to take form, Falchion and Aeris grabbed Fireclaw and spun him around. Aeris inserted her hand into Fireclaw's chest. Fireclaw lost his breath and instantly fell to his knees in pain. Falchion put his hand on Fireclaw's shoulder and channeled his energy to Aeris. Soon a black mist ran itself up Aeris' arm and to the ground like water. Fireclaw's eyes began to glow from the blood red to a bright sky blue. Aeris removed her hand as Falchion tightened his grip on Fireclaw's shoulder. The form had already taken the shape of Allo and was approaching them wielding a giant sword twice as tall as himself and about as wide as Allo's body. A light enveloped Fireclaw as he began to feel something wrapping itself around his face, torso, arms and legs. Fireclaw now saw that he had a face shield on and could tell that he was now heavily armored. Falchion removed his hand and turned to Aeris. They stepped back as Allo raised the sword and prepared to strike. Like a flash of lightning Fireclaw went from being on his knees to now flying through the air with his sword positioned for a drag cut. He sliced Allo's midsection perfectly. He landed in a roll as Allo rose to his feet. Genghis Rex and Eldin backed away.

"Allo, what happened to you?" Fireclaw said. His voice had deepened greatly.

"This Allo that you speak of is no longer here. You now face me, Fireclaw, your savior." A dark voice spoke from within Allo's body. Allo's mouth never moved.

Allo's eyes were glowing a bright red and leaving trails as he moved his head. The wound in his midsection healed itself rapidly. Eldin, Rex, Falchion and Aeris raised their arms into the air as light began to envelope the four of them. They all levitated into the air and the eye of the storm began to widen. Soon a bright ring of blue fire was swirling around the outer rim of the circle. The blood moon was high in the sky and didn't move as time passed. Time now stood still. Allo and Fireclaw locked eyes.

"F-Fire, kill... Valmon...way." Allo barely choked out.

"Hehe, this one has willpower I see. No matter, when I'm through with you he and this pathetic world of yours will be broken. We'll see who's willpower is stronger." Valmonway boomed from within Allo.

Long columns of fire dropped from the circle and began to swirl around Allo and Fireclaw. The columns solidified and became large pillars of fire. They retracted back into the sky and took Allo and Fireclaw with them. Aeris, Falchion, Genghis Rex and Eldin stayed locked in place in the air. Ozzy, Strut and Pterano ran to the center of the rock formation where Fireclaw and Allo were standing moments before. They looked up into the circle in awe.

"Kill him Fireclaw, kill that son of a bitch and end this once and for all!" Ozzy screamed to the sky. Strut looked at him in horror after hearing him swear for the first time in his life.

"Ozzy!" Strut reprimanded.

"What? Can't you see what just happened?" Ozzy countered.

"Come on Fireclaw. I know you can do this. Do this for the Great Valley. Do it for Allo. I know you can!" Pterano said under his breath.

The four divine beings disappeared in a flash of light, and the light columns faded away. The scales were balanced. The fight was now champion against champion, and only one could survive.


	15. The Light That Blinds

Chapter 15: The Light That Blinds

* * *

"So this is how it ends. I truly didn't think you were capable, Fireclaw. I can see now that I was wrong. You'll need not worry. Your friends are no longer with us. It is only you and I, as it should be." Valmonway said in a very calm tone.

Valmonway stood facing Fireclaw. Valmonway was also of Allosaur descent. His black skin shined smoothly in the moonlight. He stood as tall as Fireclaw and wore armor as black as the midnight sky itself. He stood with the giant clever-like sword impaled into the ground beneath him. Both hands were crossed on the bottom of his handle. He smiled menacingly at Fireclaw, who stood opposite him in an attack position with his blade at the ready.

"Looks like there's one thing left for us to settle, isn't there Fire? Nothing between us, no monsters, no friends, no foes. You may not know of who I am but I assure you that when this is over, you will." Valmonway said.

"So you're the Sire of corruption? I expected you to be more intimidating, guess I can't say I'm impressed." Fireclaw taunted.

Valmonway lifted his sword from the ground. In a flash of light he went from preparing a swing to being up next to Fireclaw bringing the colossal blade down upon him. Fireclaw dodged it and countered with a swipe of his sword. He hit his mark and slashed Valmonway's leg, which bled a black misty vapor.

"You're good, Fireclaw. I'll give you that. You are a talented sword fighter. It runs in your blood, I can taste it." Valmonway said with a devilish chuckle.

Fireclaw felt a trickle of blood run down his leg. Valmonway licked his finger like he had just finished a juicy piece of meat. Fireclaw charged Valmonway head on, preparing a cross slice while trying to force Valmonway to the ground with the gauntlet's energy. Valmonway moved quickly to the left of Fireclaw and out of the way of the charge and kicked Fireclaw hard in the ribs. Fireclaw rolled over and landed hard on his side, but kept a death grip on the sword.

"You think that blade will guide you? How adorable." Valmonway taunted.

"Why not fight your opponent as an equal, you dishonorable bastard." Fireclaw retorted coldly.

Fireclaw could feel the power from the sword begin to grow within him. He had to somehow get Valmonway to fight him one on one without using any of his power. Valmonway stuck his giant sword blade into the ground at his feet.

"So it's a duel you're asking for is it? Hmm, it would be a shame to turn down such an opportunity." Valmonway explained. His way of words was sophisticated and calculated as if each word was hand picked to make the best sentences.

"Very well then Fireclaw. I'll give you the honor a duel. Sharptooth to sharptooth of course." Valmonway said.

Fireclaw's knees shook as he rose to his feet. He stood ready for an attack and Valmonway did the same. The power inside Fireclaw began to grow faster and faster. Valmonway seemed to pay no mind to it, making Fireclaw unsure if he knew he was gaining power or not. The two began to circle each other with their swords at the ready.

"I give you first strike." Valmonway said with a wicked smile.

Searching for any signs of weakness in Valmonway's stance Fireclaw calculated his first move. A bad move could mean devastating results for him. Fireclaw faked a high strike and Valmonway took the bait. As Valmonway went to block, Fireclaw quickly changed position and landed a clean cross cut. As he finished his attack Valmonway attempted to retaliate by a downward slice onto Fireclaw's back, but Fireclaw saw it coming. He turned his body and thrust his sword up, effectively blocking the slice and sending it safely away from him, where he landed another good blow with his shoulder. Valmonway was taken off balance, but Fireclaw restrained himself from attempting a flurry of attacks. He stood ready once more and waited for Valmonway to rise.

"Excellent choice, Fireclaw. An impressive show of your keen sense of sight and your wit in battle. You've done this before, haven't you?"

"It's different fighting someone on their level isn't it? You've been powerful for so long that you've forgotten just how strong some actually are. You underestimate me Valmonway." Fireclaw replied.

Valmonway noticed he couldn't regenerate his wounds from Fireclaw's sword. His calm and collected demeanor soon changed and he began to for once in his life feel what fear truly was. He truly had underestimated Fireclaw and the blade he wielded.

"Now it's my turn!" Valmonway yelled as he charged in.

Valmonway did an aerial cartwheel and extended his arm as he came back around. Fireclaw stepped out of the way and attempted a slice with his blade after narrowly missing the high speed slice Valmonway brought on. Valmonway hopped backward and brought his arm back across his chest in an attempt to hit Fireclaw as he swung his sword. Fireclaw felt the blade of Valmonway's sword run itself across his cheek. The sting of the wound hit instantly but Fireclaw disregarded it. This was no time to show pain. Fireclaw collected himself once more and struck back. He tried the fake again but Valmonway saw what he was trying to do. Instead Valmonway sliced at Fireclaw's mid-section. Fireclaw barely dodged the deadly slice and blocked it with his sword. He turned Valmonway's momentum against him and sent him sprawling forward a little further than he'd expected. Once Valmonway had lost his balance Fireclaw came around with a back spin and sliced down Valmonway's shoulder. Valmonway collapsed and Fireclaw approached him, sword at his throat.

"I clearly have underestimated you, Fireclaw. I'm very impressed with your show of skill, but there's still one thing you forget." Valmonway angrily spat from the ground.

Valmonway batted the sword away from his throat, deeply cutting his palm. He swept Fireclaw off of his feet with his tail and elbowed him hard in the torso effectively winding him. Fireclaw struggled to regain his breath as Valmonway attempted an overhead slice to take off his head. Suddenly a burst of energy from within Fireclaw sent Valmonway flying across the floating island of Earth they were fighting upon. Below them was an infinite void. To avoid falling Valmonway grabbed the ledge of the island. A lone rock saved him from an uncertain fate. Upon pulling himself up he could see that Fireclaw was now levitating and his sword was breaking apart. Hinges now connected segments of his sword and the blade now became very flexible and whip-like. Fireclaw stared at Valmonway as he pulled himself back up.

"Now we will do things your way Valmonway. Sharptooth to sharptooth." Fireclaw boomed out. His voice was now much louder and much deeper when he spoke.

"Yes, let's!" Valmonway boomed back.

Valmonway held his sword out in front of him and let it go. It floated in front of him and began to radiate dark red clouds with a crimson aura. The blade itself had now rounded and thinned considerably. It was now about the size of a pipe. The tube extended upward before branching off and forming broader parts. The sword now became a battleaxe.

Valmonway spun the battleaxe by the handle and held it as if it weighed nothing. Fireclaw snapped his whipsword like a bullwhip, but due to it being a segmented blade it didn't crack like a normal whip.

Fireclaw extended his arm and shot the tip of the sword at Valmonway. He countered by wrapping the blade around his battleaxe and giving it a hard jerk. Fireclaw's grip was so strong on the sword handle that he went with the sword when Valmonway jerked hard on it. Valmonway struck down hard thinking Fireclaw would land exactly where he was going to hit, but Fireclaw rolled himself and flipped high above Valmonway's head. He wrapped the blade around Valmonway's torso and neck and pulled himself down hard on Valmonway's shoulders. Valmonway went to his knees and Fireclaw began to pull hard on the whip's handle trying to choke or decapitate Valmonway. He struggled hard to get a breath, and because of Fireclaw's sword being a hallowed blade he couldn't regenerate his wounds or simply heal himself as he could if it were another random fighter. After a brief struggle, Valmonway grabbed the blade and flipped Fireclaw onto his back. Valmonway went for Fireclaw's throat but couldn't get a grip. When he'd looked at his hand, he'd lost two of his fingers pulling the blade to flip Fireclaw over him.

"Can't put your finger on it can you? What's wrong? Can't grab me?" Fireclaw taunted.

Valmonway grabbed his axe and threw it at Fireclaw. Fireclaw spun out of the way but was hit again and this time suffered a deep gash to his shoulder. After inspecting his wound he heard something whistling behind him. Fireclaw ducked down just in time to miss the axe coming back around like a boomerang directly over his head. Valmonway caught it and landed a spinning heel kick on Fireclaw. Fireclaw backflipped from the impact of it and landed hard on his face. Valmonway brought his foot down hard on Fireclaw's back, causing him to yell out in pain. Fireclaw's adrenaline rushed through him, now amplifying the power that was growing within him. The blade's power was wanting to be released, but he had to wait until Valmonway was most vulnerable to unleash it. Fireclaw dodged a kick from Valmonway and whipped his ankle causing Valmonway to trip onto his back. Fireclaw fought off the agonizing pain and got to his feet. He used the emerald gauntlet's now amplified power to lift Valmonway and slam him against the ground. He could hear Valmonway gasp for air as he lifted him again, roll him mid air and slam him down face first. After trying to climb to his knees Fireclaw lifted Valmonway one last time, this time turned him upside down and dropped him right down onto his head. The crack of Valmonway's head as it came in contact with the dirt was loud and gruesome.

"You- fight- well." Valmonway choked out.

"Yea, you've told me enough." Fireclaw replied.

The blade's power was causing his temples to pulsate. It was time, and Fireclaw knew it. He raised his sword and the segments of the blade returned and formed a whole blade once again. Fireclaw's blade returned to it's normal form. The battleaxe that Valmonway used was now returned to it's normal form as well. The blade began to glow with a bright white light. The light's intensity was enough to blind anyone who looked at it and wasn't strong enough to see through it. Fireclaw approached Valmonway's broken body and raised his sword. The blade made Fireclaw's arm pulse rapidly, the power within was eager to be released like water breaking through floodgates. It was ready to banish the evil within Valmonway's soul. As Fireclaw prepared to strike, Valmonway stuck his hand out. His sword quickly slid across the ground and the handle caught itself on Fireclaw's foot. Fireclaw was flipped onto his back and the sword dug itself into the dirt behind him. Valmonway flung himself on top of Fireclaw and began to strangle him. Scratching and punching at Valmonway was no use. Valmonway was too heavy to knock off. He grabbed Fireclaw's sword and attempted to impale Fireclaw, but Fireclaw stuck his hand up and caused the sword to flash a light in Valmonway's eyes. Valmonway dropped the sword and instantly grabbed his face in his hands. He yelled in agony as his vision was damaged beyond repair. Fireclaw grabbed his blade and kicked Valmonway back. Valmonway attempted to rise to his feet but Fireclaw sent him sprawling with a cross cut to the face. He severed the flap of skin that held his jaws together at the cheek. The blade's power was so intense it was now humming loudly and shaking Fireclaw's hand as he held it. Valmonway rose to his knees and lowered his hands. His eyes were now black pits.

"You... have... bested... me..." Valmonway choked out between globs of blood that he kept coughing up.

Fireclaw had no words. He swung his sword to meet Valmonway's neck and cleanly sliced off Valmonway's head. It rolled to the left of his body, and he fell right. The blade's angry pulsation and bright light soon faded. Fireclaw sheathed his sword and walked away from his fallen opponent. It was over. The pain in his back was unbearable and caused him to vomit blood. He unsheathed his sword and thrust it into the ground for support. The pain spread from his back to his torso, and down into his legs. Soon it became so unbearable that he collapsed. His vision had faded and soon he lost consciousness.

"Is he awake? Oh my god he's awake!"

"Fireclaw? Fireclaw wake up!"

"Sarah calm down, he'll be fine." Allo reassured.

Fireclaw opened his eyes. He was by the Thundering Falls in a makeshift nest of leaves and sticks.

"Wha- what happened?" Fireclaw asked weakly.

"After the storm at the top of Saurus Rock had dissipated you were the only one left. We had thought you were dead at first, but had Pterano not have checked for a pulse you probably would be." Allo said.

"Allo, you actually called him Pterano instead of Terrible-Dactyl." Fireclaw said jokingly. His voice was very faint and weak and speaking was becoming a chore.

"We had a bit of a discussion on the way back down. Settled differences you could say." Pterano replied.

Fireclaw smiled and rest his head once more.

Fireclaw noticed Cera, Petrie, Ducky, Spike and Chomper standing nearby. He raised his head up and grunted from an ache in his neck.

"Where's Littlefoot?" Fireclaw asked.

"He's over with his Grandpa. He'll be fine, though his Grandpa wasn't really himself for a while." David said.

Fireclaw instantly jerked his head to his right upon hearing his voice and ignored the spurt of pain from doing it.

"Holy shit the secret scouts are in the Great Valley!" Fireclaw exclaimed.

"We got a message from Allo telling us to meet up somewhere and that he was going to send Quackpot to pick us up. At first we didn't really trust him but something's different." Paul said.

"We're actually seeing eye to eye here! It's a friggin' miracle!" Fireclaw said before dropping his head back down and staring off into the sky.

Everyone laughed at Fireclaw's little outburst after Paul told them how they got there. Ozzy and Strut came out of some brush accompanied by Littlefoot and Grandpa Longneck.

"Fireclaw, thank goodness you're alright!" Strut shouted before practically throwing himself at Fireclaw.

"Woah Strut, chill. It's fine, I'm not dead." Fireclaw replied.

"We couldn't believe what we'd seen. It was amazing! It was... well it was magical!" Strut shouted in excitement.

Falchion and Aeris walked onto the scene shortly after and joined the crowd of Dinosaurs and four humans.

"We're actually surprised that you lived Fireclaw. We're even more surprised that you managed to fight and kill the Sire of Corruption." Falchion said.

"It didn't seem like he was giving it his all. It wasn't easy, but why would he not fight at his best?" Fireclaw asked.

"He was one that followed a strict code of honor. It's an ultimate irony for his character because he was as dishonorable as they come." Aeris replied.

"Funny. He actually agreed to a duel with me rather than annhilate me like he could easily have done." Fireclaw replied.

"He couldn't have just wiped you out. You were too strong for that. The blade that you wield chose you to wield it. That's why you were able to gather the power from it and take off his head. Blades break against his skin, Fireclaw. Think about that." Falchion said.

"Speaking of which, this is yours." Aeris added.

Aeris took Fireclaw's hallowed sword off of her back and placed it next to him. Fireclaw instantly felt as if he'd truly done something amazing. He had a sword now that he knew that only he could use. He had no narcissism about it. He knew that he'd earned it.

"Thanks Aeris, and thanks Falchion." Fireclaw said.

"With pleasure. It's been a honor to stand at your side Fireclaw." Falchion said.

Falchion and Aeris backed away from the crowd. As they said their final goodbyes a beacon of light enveloped them. The light caused some of the bystanders to turn their heads or shield their eyes. When the lights had faded, the rainbow faces were gone.

"Fireclaw, is that a tear?" Pterano asked.

"There comes a time when a tear is shed Pterano. Through all the shit that we'd been through, all the fights, all the darkness and senseless murders, somehow I feel that I've managed to do something right. Maybe I'm not a bastard." Fireclaw said with joy. For once Fireclaw felt fulfilled.


	16. We Stand Together

Chapter 16: We Stand Together

* * *

Two weeks passed since the defeat of Valmonway and the ultimate end of what could have been a global disaster by the hand of an all powerful being. Fireclaw was recovering well from the battle with Valmonway and the multiple injuries he sustained. His back ached on occasion when he would walk, but it wasn't anything permanent or damaging. The gash on his shoulder was healing nicely with the stitches inserted thanks to Teryx. The Dinosaucers came to accept Pterano and Quackpot into their ranks and the two both left their Tyranno ways behind them. Pterano also returned to his old name rather than Terrible Dactyl.

The sun was shining through clear skies on this warm summer day. Fireclaw was sitting on a rock near the Thundering Falls wading his feet in a shallow part of the pond. He looked at his reflection and though about everything he'd accomplished. He remembered some of his sins that would forever scar his soul, but in the end was able to say that it was worth it for how far he had come. It was hard to come to terms with but Fireclaw pulled himself through. The secret scouts were off adventuring with Littlefoot and his friends. Chomper walked up behind Fireclaw and startled him from his trance.

"Hey Fire, Allo's looking for you. I think you're leaving." Chomper said.

"Wait what? Where is he?" Fireclaw replied curiously.

"I'm not sure. The other Dinosaucers loaded up all of the ships with a lot of the equipment we had at Lavadome. We'd managed to fix Lavadome a good deal, I don't see how the damages from earlier could have anything to do with it." Chomper explained.

"Oh no... Don't tell me." Fireclaw said under his breath with great distress.

Fireclaw and Chomper walked to a field in the Great Valley that was well large enough to land four ships in. Just as Chomper said, the Dinosaucer mothership, Bronto-thunder's ship, Tricero's ship, Dimetro's ship, Bonehead's ship and Stego's ship were loaded with equipment and docked in the field. The main door to the Dinosaucer's mothership folded itself down from the underside of the ship and Allo made his way down the large ramp. Fireclaw felt his stomach drop at the fact that he would be leaving Earth.

"Well Fireclaw, this is it. I'm sorry I had to let you know on such short notice, but we were called back last night, and it's urgent." Allo said with deep regret. Fireclaw could see the hurt in his eyes as he had to break the news to him.

"What? Who... who the hell called the return in?" Fireclaw asked angrily.

"The Dinosorcerer himself. He's ordered an analysis on everything we've found here on Earth. He also needed you for military business as well." Allo replied.

With no other words, Fireclaw unsheathed his sword and stabbed the ground in fury. The blade pulsed as he thrust it into the ground beneath him. As Allo and Fireclaw stepped onto the lift platform Allo closed the gate behind them and pressed the up button on the lift switch. The platform made it's way up as Fireclaw turned to face the crowd of Dinosaurs and the secret scouts that he was leaving behind.

"Wait, how will the secret scouts get home?" Fireclaw asked.

"Dimetro is taking them back before he leaves. He'll follow us out." Allo replied.

Fireclaw looked at Allo and began to rethink his decision. The lift had risen half way up the ramp before Fireclaw hit the stop button.

"Fireclaw what are you doing?" Allo asked.

"Allo, I'm not going back to Reptillon. To hell with the military. To hell with everything there! Honestly when I get back I'll just be another face in the military branch of the Reptillon Royalty. I'm not leaving behind what I have here." Fireclaw said.

"Fireclaw, would you honestly betray-"

"This isn't betrayal Allo. If I leave, that is betrayal. I refuse to betray my true family." Fireclaw interrupted.

Just as Allo had hit the up button again Fireclaw had stepped onto the railing and flipped himself forward, landing in a front somersault on the ground. His back immediately made him regret the decision.

"Allo as much as I'd like to go back, I refuse to become one with the same crowd I've always been. Never mattering to anyone and always being demanded from to do more from the general public. I won't do it anymore. I refuse to!" Fireclaw yelled.

Allo looked at Fireclaw, his feelings now even more crushed than before.

"Fireclaw, I hate to do this, but I'll respect your decision. In light of recent events, it's the only thing I can do." Allo replied.

Chomper ran over to Fireclaw's sword and grabbed it out of the ground. He presented it to Fireclaw who took it back and sheathed it once more.

"Remember Allo, when you know who your true friends and family are, stand as one." Fireclaw advised.

Cheers of joy were had amongst the crowd of Great Valley dinosaurs as Fireclaw stood tall and delivered his final goodbye to his life on Reptillon. Quackpot walked up on his left and Pterano walked up on his right. Redclaw joined the band standing facing the ships. Allo send the lift back up and saluted Fireclaw. Fireclaw returned the salute, unsheathed his sword and as a final send off sent a beacon of light into the air. The beacon split into three, then to six as each ship took off through it. With a hard lift up each ship one by one disappeared into the blue sky. Fireclaw stood watching the sky with a tear in his eye as the Dinosaucers departed Earth. Fireclaw was sure that they'd be back one way or another, he had no doubt about it.

Fireclaw turned and faced the rest of the Great Valley who attended the supposed good-bye gathering. They stood with joy to see their newest member of the Great Valley sheathing his sword.

"We stand together. Always." Fireclaw said.

Many cheers went around. Chomper ran and hugged Fireclaw. Fireclaw was home. Fireclaw was there to stay.


End file.
